What You Can't Have
by Iliveinnerdfighteria
Summary: Pitch says he's met someone like Jack. Someone who shivers in the shadows of fear and distances herself from people. But Jack's met her before too. Is he going to be enough to save Elsa from herself?
1. Chapter 1

It had been years since the Man In The Moon had chosen Jack. Almost 50 years to be exact and immortality was getting a little old. I mean yeah, never dying had been great for the first couple of years, but after a while…

Fifty years had gone by, and Jack was growing weary of his task as the bringer of snow, and from what he could tell, his long reign was just beginning.

Every day it was the same old thing: fly to the next destination and blanket the town. Sure, he found little ways of having fun: snow storms in spring, tripping people with patches of ice, and of course egging on the snow ball fights between the village children. The children were his greatest source of joy in his never-ending existence. Bringing happiness to them through snowmen and forts. He could watch them slip and slide over a patch of ice, giggling with their friends, all day long.

Fun was something Jack had always been good at… or at least he thought so. Fifty years of being alone was hard, but even harder was fifty years of amnesia. Since he rose from the pond that fateful winter afternoon he didn't have a memory in his head. And what was worse was the uncertainty of whether he even had anything to remember. Whether he had a life before he was Jack Frost, or if he simply came into being one day.

Yet, the world trekked on around him and his duties still cried out to be performed.

Jack hovered over the next town, his staff in hand, the winds carrying him aloft. He squinted as he studied the best vantage point for his bit of daily mischief. Already the winds howled around him and perfect snowflakes flurried toward the ground in anticipation of Jack's first move. With a sudden squeal of laughter and a mid air turn, the eternal boy rocketed toward the earth. Details slid into focus the closer he came to the ground, one detail in particular: a teenage couple walking briskly toward the woods, both of them looking frequently over their shoulder. Jack briefly noted that the girl was pretty and the boy fairly scrawny.

The snow began to fall heavier around them, laying a thin coat upon the ground as the both the young man and woman breathed a sigh of relief at having made it to the cover of the trees seemingly unseen. When the village was out of sight behind them, the boy reached out and stopped the girl, holding her hand nervously in his own. Pink blushes colored their cheeks, both from the cold and embarrassment at being alone together.

Jack perched silently in a tree above them, a coy smile playing across his face as he watched the interaction, waiting for the optimal time to intervene.

The girl glanced toward the village, obviously on edge, "Wilhelm we aren't supposed to be out unattended." Even though there was no one around to hear them, she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

With wide eyes Wilhelm nodded, "I understand that Elizabeth, I simply could not wait until the next village dance to hold your hand in mine." The girl's blush deepened as her gloved hand gripped tighter to her young escort's fingers.

Jack fought against the urge to roll his eyes at the whole encounter and yet he waited.

"Will…" Elizabeth trailed off, seemingly content to just look into the eyes of this boy she so ardently admired.

At this Jack simply could not sit still any longer, he let out a loud groan unheard by either of the love-struck youth below him. Aiming his staff at their feet, a large patch of ice grew beneath them.

For a moment, everything stayed as it had been, until Elizabeth shifted her weight and promptly lost her balance. With a quick squeak of surprise and fear she lurched forward into the waiting arms Wilhelm who miraculously managed to maintain his footing. Jack's mouth turned up into a triumphant smile as Elizabeth shyly looked up at her beloved and Will seized the opportunity that had been handed to him practically on a silver platter. The young boy leaned down and gently pressed his lips against the girl's and the moment was perfect.

The smile on Jack's face slowly slipped away as he felt a sharp twinge in his chest. Immediately he leapt into the air, leaving the painful twist behind him in the wind. It was all fun and games until emotions came into play. Then it was time to move on. No sense dwelling on what you can't have.

The light snowfall grew heavier and heavier until a full raging snow storm tore through the village below and Jack left it behind to blow itself out, not giving a second thought to the couple now stumbling blindly toward home.

**Author's Note: **

**Hello! Yes this is very much so a Jelsa fanfic. So if that's what you came for, welcome! If not, please stay the story will be interesting too! Sorry, I suck at this whole first chapter thing... But hope you like it! Please read and review! :) Gracias :) **


	2. Chapter 2

Jack gave himself a mental chastisement as he flew towards his next destination: a kingdom a few villages over. Nothing but pain came from interacting with the mortals, he knew that. He had been told by the other spirits a hundred times: don't get involved. But being eternally eighteen made that nearly impossible for Jack. The only times he was truly happy was when he was making children happy and he couldn't do that if he didn't get involved. He had finally resigned himself to the fact that he just wasn't like the other immortal beings around him, and frankly that was perfectly fine with him.

When incidents occurred like the one with Wilhelm and Elizabeth, however, he sometimes wished he could keep his distance a little. Love was a touchy subject when it came to Jack and the other spirits. Immortality had crushed that dream for every one of them. Eternal life didn't stop them from loving humans and it made it all the more painful to watch them live and inevitably die.

_Enough!_

Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts and struggled to force his focus back on the task at hand which was bringing winter to Arendelle. The kingdom shivered with arctic winds below him ready and waiting for the snow he had to bring. It really was a beautiful place: smoke bellowed from chimneys and kids skipped and giggled in the streets, watched over by mothers who huddled together for warmth and gossip in the cold afternoon.

A smile could not be repressed as Jack watched the small figures chase each other over the uneven cobblestone streets and again he felt the rising bubble of mischief inside him. He swooped down with his crooked staff outstretched and the snow swirling around him. The kids stopped their playing and looked up with wonder as the snow fell like glitter to the earth.

"Wanna go for a ride?" Jack bellowed as he slid to a stop in front of the waiting crowd.

As if in reply to the unheard question the children let out a collective cry of joy and reached out their hands toward the beckoning snowflakes.

Jack chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes then." A simple pound of his staff upon the ground and ice zoomed up and down the cobblestone street. Fear entered the eyes of the children as one by one they fell to the ground, but it was quickly replaced by excitement as seemingly out of no where a large gust of wind appeared and soon they were racing down the street.

The voices of panicked mothers followed the joyous gathering down the street, but to no avail for off the children went, unaided by anything but the wind. Curious faces peered out of dirty windows as screams of laughter and crows of joy preceded them through the streets of the town. Everywhere they went, ice seemed to appear before them in curves and jumps that made the ride all the more enjoyable. Several times it seemed their joyous ride was doomed to end in tragedy as the ice track led straight into a house or shop. But a quick turn always materialized and once a large slope of ice shot them straight over the road block.

The journey ended in a large pile of snow that caught the bright eyed miscreants in it's soft arms. Not a word was spoken as each child individually caught their breath and relived the last few moment again in their heads.

One older girl who's red, braided pigtails had a curious strip of white on one side, sat up and broke the silence, "You wanna build a snowman?" And to her obvious delight the other children roared in agreement.

Jack obliged by thickening the snowfall to allow for better snowmen. He even rolled up a snowman himself and in all the chaos it went unnoticed. Everywhere he turned there were rosy cheeks and sparkling laughter and Jack soaked it in like a sponge. This was something the other spirits missed out on by keeping their distance: the joy of children. Jack simply could not survive without it.

"Snowball fight anyone?" He called as he hurled a snowball at the red headed girl. She shrieked with laughter and bent down to gather up her own arsenal where she froze as a voice bellowed,

"Princess Anna!"

A nervous hush fell over the group of wide-eyed children as they looked around at each other shrugging. Princess Anna? Who was that?

Slowly the frozen girl straightened out and turned to face her servant with a sheepish grin. The man was unmoved and wholly unamused as he marched past swiveling heads until he was face to face with the girl.

Curious, Jack moved in closer to hear the tense conversation between the two outsiders.

"What were you thinking sneaking out of the castle like that?" The man hissed between clenched teeth.

The princess sighed and rolled her eyes, "I haven't been outside the castle in ages Kai! I just wanted to have some fun with people who aren't paid to interact with me!"

The man who Jack now assumed was called Kai softened a bit before answering, "I understand, Princess, but your parents have been worried sick about you. We hadn't a clue where you were until a woman came to the castle screeching about demon winds and an unknown girl with red hair."

Anna's mouth twitched into a smile, "Demon winds?" There was laughter in her voice.

Kai gave her a withering glance until she dropped the smile and instead pouted, "Fine. I won't sneak out of the castle anymore." She took a step back and looked over at the children who just a moment ago seemed so carefree. Now they looked at her with wonder and maybe a small amount of fear.

"Thanks for playing with me guys." She gave them a small smile with sad eyes as she trudged back to the castle on the heels of her servant.

Jack gave a fleeting glance to the children who now huddled together and whispered excitedly as the Princess walked away, and seemingly deciding something he leapt into the air and followed after the royal duo.

He quickly slipped into the castle as the doors swung shut and another panicked voice cried out, "Anna!" A slender woman in regal clothing clambered down the steps of the grand staircase. For a moment, Jack was distracted by the beauty of the hall he found himself in. Portraits of men and women lined the walls intricately painted by skilled hands. Above them a crystal chandelier threw rainbows of light across the ceiling and marble staircase that ascended to the floor above. All in all there was no supposing that this belonged to anyone but a king and queen. A queen who was now grasping her daughter's face in her hands doing a quick scan for injuries before pulling her into a tight hug.

Emotion bubbled inside the immortal boy's stomach as he watched the obvious concern of this mother for her daughter and his flight instinct kicked in. Telling himself that it was because he wanted to see the rest of this magnificent castle, he left the two women who had now been joined by someone who could only be the king.

Slowly lowering himself to the ground at the top of the staircase, Jack opted to walk through the rest of the house on foot. Again he marveled at the majesty of the architecture of the castle. It was all extremely well kept up, everything was polished and in order as he strolled through the hallways on strips of plush rugs. He didn't once think it was odd that he passed no other servants in the hallways. That although the house was in remarkable upkeep it had the musty air of abandonment and loneliness.

Suddenly, a door was flung open behind him and out of habit he whipped around and found himself face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

**A/N**

**Thanks for reading chapter 2! Hope you're enjoying yourself. Just one housekeeping note: **

**I'm going to try and update this thing 2 or 3 times a day here in the beginning, but I do have a job and it makes it hard to get stuff done. So thanks for being patient with me in advance. **

**Please read and review! I loooove to hear what you guys think! So go ahead! Tear me to shreds if you don't like the way I write my characters, but if you like it, please tell me. It gives me incentive to write more. **

**Thanks :) **


	3. Chapter 3

Jack's heart stuttered to a stop in his chest as crystal blue eyes stared into his. Could she see him? Hope rose in Jack's throat before he could stop it until the girl took a step forward and passed right through him. Anguish crashed down on him as he again whipped around to see the girl hesitate and glance over her shoulder before giving a slight shudder and walking on. That happened to people when they walked through the snow spirit. They could feel the cold emanating from him. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Almost against his will, Jack followed the girl as she tiptoed down the hall seemingly at war with herself. She stopped several more times, almost heading back to her room, but she pushed on, her hands clenched in tight fists at her side.

The young woman was absolutely stunning. Her snow white hair was twisted into a knot at the top of her head, accentuating the feminine curve of her jawline and neck. Large ice blue eyes peered out from underneath thick dark eyelashes that contrasted so smartly with her fair features. She couldn't have been much younger than him. His bodily age not his actual one, perhaps only a year or two younger. Jack simply could not look away. In all his years of existence he had never met a human being who captivated him so fully. He narrowly missed running into a table and falling down the stairs as they neared them.

And then she spoke, "Is she alright?" Her voice was clear and commanding even drenched in worry as it was at that moment.

Three startled faces turned up to the fair girl as she gripped tightly to the banister, but didn't descend the stairs.

The King's face especially looked up with just a touch of worry as he nodded, "She's alright, Elsa."

"Elsa," Jack tried the name out enjoying very much the taste of it in his mouth. It sent thrills through him as he watched the scene unfold, his heart beating much too fast in his chest.

Anna for her part looked as if she'd seen a ghost as she stared up at who Jack guessed was her sister. The resemblance was uncanny between the three royal women.

Elsa's arm moved subconsciously, reaching out for the sister she didn't know but so desperately loved, her face the picture of longing. After a few seconds, however, she came to herself and her arm curled itself around her waist as she gripped tighter to the banister.

"Good," Her voice was barely a murmur and yet it echoed down into the silent hall, "Excuse me." She turned away and released her grip on the banister.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He barely noticed as Anna stepped away from the arms of her parents and cried out for her sister to wait. The sounds of the struggle as the king and queen of Arendelle restrained their youngest daughter from running up the stairs were muffled in his ears.

The world drained away as Jack stared wide-eyed at the banister that Elsa had held moments ago. A handprint of ice was slowly melting before his eyes and he knew that had not been his doing.

Which meant…

Jack Frost sprinted down the hall after the enigma of a woman, her retreating form had just reached the door of her room. If he didn't act quickly she would be shut inside. He sent a gust of wind ahead of him, hoping to distract her long enough for him to slip into the room in front of her.

It worked.

With tear filled eyes, Elsa turned her head to stare down the hall toward him, trying to locate the cause of the sudden disturbance, giving Jack just enough time to slip himself in between the woman and the door. A shiver shot down his spine at their briefly close proximity. And then they were both in the room with the door shut behind them and Elsa couldn't hold it in anymore.

Her sobs cut Jack straight to the core as he knew there was nothing he could do to comfort her. If she didn't believe in him she couldn't even see him, let alone feel him. So Jack kept his distance and studied the broken girl from afar, yearning to reach out and hold her and mentally chastising himself for caring in the first place.

Even the gloves on Elsa's hands couldn't hold back the avalanche building inside her and as she leaned against her door and allowed her hands to drop to her side, frost crept out from her fingertips, covering her entire room in a thin layer as snowflakes began to fall from her ceiling.

Jack's heart began to race again as he couldn't keep himself from whispering, "You do have magic." Who was this girl? What sort of power did she possess? Where did she come from? The list unanswered questions went on and on in Jack's mind as he stared with wonder at the crying woman in front of him.

Standing up, he began to step forward, wanting a closer look, but a knock sounded at the door and he froze.

The snow princess quickly wiped her eyes and stared helplessly at the frost that had accumulated around the room. Before he knew what he was doing, Jack pounded the floor with his staff and the frost dissipated along with the softly falling snow. A touch of panic and confusion entered Elsa's eyes as she stared at the now perfect room. Another knock sounded on the door, causing her to flinch, "Elsa? Are you alright?" It was the gentle voice of her father calling her from outside the door.

At this moment, though, she just wanted to be alone. Suddenly grateful for the mysterious force that had cleared her room of suspicion, she turned and opened the door.

"Elsa, are you alright?" Jack shifted position so he was standing directly behind the princess looking into the concerned face of the king.

"Yes, I'm fine." The puffy eyes and red face told a different tale but as the man looked over his daughter's head and saw a clear room his face relaxed a bit.

"I'm proud of you. I think you're really starting to get the hang of those powers." He smiled slightly at the thought.

Jack couldn't see the girl's face, but he heard her reply, "Conceal it. Don't feel it…" She started.

The man's smile grew as he pulled the girl into a tight hug, "Don't let it show," and after a moment, "I love you very much."

Elsa's voice was muffled in his chest, "I love you too." The embrace ended and Elsa was once again left in her (so she thought) empty bedroom. Confusion once again crumpled her beautiful face and Jack simply could not help himself. Pressing his hand to the window behind him he allowed frost to creep over the panes.

The girl's eyes widened and she turned so pale Jack was afraid she'd faint. He quickly jumped out of the way as Elsa ran to the window and touched the softly curling ice there.

Jack drew closer and closer to the girl until he could see the freckles that softly covered her nose. He felt drawn to her in a way he couldn't yet explain. There was a tug in his gut when he realized that he would soon have to leave her. Pain stabbed his heart at the fact that she couldn't see or hear him, that she didn't believe in him.

"Elsa." He breathed again, hoping to some eternal being, the Man In The Moon perhaps, that she would hear him.

He froze as her head turned toward him, their faces merely inches apart. Her eyes roamed his face as she searched for the cause of the cool breeze that sent a shiver through her. For a moment she thought she saw the face of a boy: a wonderful, beautiful, fantastic boy.

But then she blinked.

And he was gone.

Jack sucked in a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as Elsa turned back to the window, taking one last look at the mysterious frost still located there and then turned and crawled into her bed.

As she slowly fell asleep, she didn't notice her window crack open, or the boy who stood perched on her window sill. She didn't see the way he looked at her, as if she was the most tragically beautiful book and he couldn't bring himself to read it. She never saw the way he shook his head angrily and silently berated himself for getting so close. She didn't understand that it would be years before she would see the boy and her world would be a completely different place then.

**A/N - **

**So Elsa came in way sooner than I was planning... But hey! This story kind of writes itself... I'm just here to bring it into existence. **

**As always thanks for reading! :) Please review if you have any thoughts of things you want to see in this story, or things you don't want in this story, and of course if you liked the story. I always enjoy hearing from people :) **

**Thanks :) **


	4. Chapter 4

For years, Jack didn't allow himself to linger in Arendelle. Every winter he would bring the customary snow, allowing it to stay for the minimum amount of time and then handing the reigns to Camilla, the spirit of Autumn. The months he spent there were the most painful months of his existence. He felt a constant pull to return to the castle, to see the beautiful princess who dwelt within it's stone walls.

But, he told himself, the pain of never knowing her would be much less painful than knowing and losing her. Outwardly, he cursed the day he entered the castle as he told himself that he was much better off before seeing her. But secretly, deep in his dreams he knew he wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world. To see her porcelain skin and breathe in her subtle scent, it had been worth it to him. To know that such a person existed and existed near him was almost more than he could bear. Being near her hurt him and he was much too cowardly to inflict such pain upon himself. So he kept his distance, just as he'd always been advised to do.

At the moment however, winter in Arendelle was the furthest thing from Jack's mind. He found himself in Australia, enjoying himself immensely as he watched the mortals below struggle to understand the light dusting of snow they had found outside their homes that morning. It wasn't often that Jack was able to visit Australia, but when he did, he played as much mischief as he could as was his forte.

A warm breeze ruffled his hair and he looked up just in time to see a figure shoot over his head, bent on getting somewhere warm. Jack's mouth curled mischievously as a snowball formed in his hand. With the perfect aim that comes from years of practice, Jack chucked the ball at the retreating form, hitting it square in the face.

A cry of outrage could be heard as the spirit squinted to locate the thrower and assess the need for revenge. Jack quickly screwed his face up in an innocent whistle as he looked around nonchalantly. When the other spirit's eyes rested on Jack the fury turned to a bright smile that lit the boy's face.

"Jack Frost!" He called, beckoning him over.

"Adekagagwaa!" Jack called back, expertly pronouncing the Native American name.

At this the boy frowned, "I wish you wouldn't use that name. It makes me sound like some chief or something."

Jack's grin broadened as he saluted the other boy, "As you wish, my liege." His mockery was met with a withering glance and he laughed, "I'm only kiddin' ya' Deck. What's up? What brings you around these parts this late in the year. Trying to barge in on my territory?" Being a spirit was lonely business. Often they visited each other at odd times in the year, just to have someone to talk to and truth be told, Jack was glad for the company.

At the question, however, Deck's face fell and he ran a hand through his golden brown hair, "I'm just trying to get away I suppose. I was cooking up a massive summer storm yesterday and a ship got caught in the winds. It overturned."

Jack placed a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder, sympathy in his eyes, "Don't beat yourself up about it Deck. Sometimes it happens, no one's to blame."

"I know. I just wish it hadn't happened. They were royals. Just trying to visit family Germany. That's the worst thing about this life, you know? The casualties that get caught up in natural disasters." The boy closed his dark eyes and shook his head, trying to shake out the memory.

"Do you know what you could use?" Jack asked.

Deck's eyes flew open in panic, "Oh no. No no. None of your misdeeds today, I'm on a schedule. I have to be in America ASAP. They could use a bit of warmth there." As he spoke he backed away slowly, holding his hands out in a last ditch effort of protection.

A snowball was already formed in Jack's hand and before the last words had left the other boy's mouth, he was hit smack dab in the chest with it. And now revenge really was in order.

Deck called up a southern wind and pushed Jack off course while quickly forming a rain cloud that promptly dumped itself on the snow spirit. The rain was immediately turned to ice torpedoes which shot themselves back at the golden haired boy. Before they could do any kind of damage, however, they were melted in a blast of warm air.

"Jack seriously! I have to go!" But even as he said the words a laugh escaped him, tugging a smile onto his friends lips. Jack shot himself over to Deck and slung an arm around him in a friendly gesture.

"I will let you go when you admit that you had a bit of fun."

Deck gave him a look before swinging his hand out and holding his fingers a few inches apart, "Maybe a _little_ bit."

Jack scoffed and pushed him away, shaking his head in mock disbelief. But something Deck said echoed in his brain, causing him to do a quick 180 and stare at his friend in horror, "Did you say they were royals? Those people on the boat! They were royals? Royals from where?"

Deck looked confused for a moment until it crashed back down on him and he suddenly looked old and tired as if he felt the full weight of his hundreds of years upon him in that moment, "Arendelle."

All the blood drained from the immortal's already pale face. "Elsa," he breathed her name, everything inside him hoping that she wasn't already gone.

Immediately Jack was off.

"Wait! Jack!" Deck called, already his voice was quiet and distant as the northern winds whisked the numb boy away from everything. The only thought in his head was of Elsa and the royals from Arendelle who had gone down with their ship.

_Please don't be dead, Elsa. _

_Please. _

**A/N - **

**Yay for drama! Drama drama drama! It really is what I thrive upon when writing stories like these. I would just like all those out there who are reading this lovely story to know how much I love you all and I appreciate each one of you a whole freaking lot. So thank you for putting up with me and my ridiculous shipping dreams. **

**And thank you to those who reviewed, it really means a lot to me when I get to hear what you think :) **

**REVIEW MORE! WOOO! **

**Love you guys :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Jack could not fly fast enough. It was more than a day's flight between Australia and Arendelle and that was if he didn't stop for rest at all. He would never reach Arendelle alive at that rate. The Indian Ocean raced by beneath him as he rocketed toward the nearest land he could find. An unconscious storm brewed above him and snow followed him everywhere he went, his panic and anguish too extreme to try and control it. When he was sure he would collapse from exhaustion, he allowed the winds to escort him to the ground and he landed in the middle of the street.

People shuffled around him, staring incredulously at the flurries of snow that were falling from the sky, but Jack paid them no mind. Immediately finding a place to rest, he laid himself down in the alley between two homes where he was sure no one would accidentally walk through him. Within seconds he had dozed off.

Dreams plagued his sleep, full of roiling oceans and splintered ships. More than once he saw the girl with the ice hair flailing in the water, but when he tried to pull her out she slid from his grasp and disappeared beneath the surface. A shadowy man with a laugh that chilled Jack to the bone always flitted in and out of focus just on the edge of his sight.

"You're too late to save her, Jack. She's already too far gone." A voice whispered in his ear just before he awoke with a jolt.

Jack's eyes snapped open and blinked as his vision was a blurred mass of red and white. When the world came into focus he saw the bushy eyebrows of North, turned up in worry and felt the large man's hand on his shoulder.

"Alright Jack?" The man's thick Russian accent was something Jack had gotten over a long time ago. Pushing himself slowly into a sitting position he looked around himself and noticed he was no longer in the alleyway, instead he lay on a bed in a room he didn't recognize.

"Where are we?" He asked as he pushed himself to his feet and walked around the room. For the moment he had forgotten about Elsa and his need to find her. Instead he walked around peering curiously at the piles of toys in every corner of the room.

North pulled himself up to his full height, throwing his chest out proudly, "We are at my workshop. Pretty cool, no?"

Jack shook his head in wonder as he threw a paper airplane from the top of a stack and it sailed itself around the room, doing midair loops and dive bombs. "What am I doing here?"

The concerned face was back, "Deck brought you here. He was worried."

Confusion quickly followed by dawning and panic chased themselves across Jack's face, "I have to go! I need to get to Arendelle!"

Reaching out his massive hand to grip Jack's shoulder and steer him from the room North once again spoke, "What is big problem? Arendelle will still be there in winter."

Jack shook his head and stepped out from underneath the jolly man's hand, "That's not the problem. It's Elsa. I have to see if she's okay. deck told me there was a ship that overturned with royals from Arendelle."

"Elsa?" North's eyes narrowed in suspicion while Jack's cheeks reddened slightly, but he didn't back down.

"She's the princess from Arendelle. I met her a few years back. She has powers just like me North. She can make ice and snow and she might be dead! I just have to know!"

North's pursed lips could barely be seen past his beard as he weighed the spirit's words, "You like her, yes?"

Jack hesitated slightly before nodding.

The large man's face fell slightly with sadness and pity as he stared at the slumped boy before him, but he nodded back, "Then I will help you."

"Thank you, North!" As wary as Jack was of the Guardians and their strict rules and duties, he couldn't help but be thankful for any help they could give him. From the inside pocket of his large red coat, North produced a small glass orb which he promptly threw to the ground.

Despite the gravity of the situation Jack couldn't help but watch excitedly as the orb exploded into a portal before his eyes, "I've always heard about these!" North let out a belly laugh behind him.

"Go, Jack. Think about Arendelle and it will bring you." Pity still etched his features as he watched the boy take a deep breath and steel himself before turning around.

"Thanks for this North." Jack held out his hand to the man.

Instead of grasping it, however, North pulled him into a large hug, "I hope you find what you are looking for." His voice was gruff as he released the boy.

Jack gave him a slight nod before stepping into the portal and exploding out of sight.

There were no words for Jack to describe the feeling of the portal, it was like being squeezed and stretched beyond limit while being pushed through a straw. Gratefully his lungs sucked in a large breath of air as Jack stepped from the portal onto a forest floor.

Arendelle was even more stunning in the summer that it was in the winter, and that was coming from Jack Frost. From the fjord sparkling in the sunlight to the top of the North Mountain that overlooked the kingdom everything was vibrant and alive. With a quick leap in the air, Jack was off toward the castle. He didn't know where he would get in when he got there or how he would find the princess, but if she was alive he knew she would be in there.

Before he could get there, however, he noticed a river of black running through the streets. Upon closer inspection he could see that it was a funeral procession slowly winding it's way back from the mountain. Jack slowed to a stop and flew down for a closer inspection, his blood roaring in his ears. He scanned the face of the people as he flew by, racing to get to the front..

_There_! At the front! A tall thin girl led the procession back toward the castle, that had to be her. Wait. No. That girl had red pigtails with one curious strip of white on one side.

"Princess Anna." Jack recalled aloud, "Where's your sister?"

If she wasn't here, did that mean she had died too? Who had been on that boat? The lack of information was driving him mad. He instead opted to follow the red-headed princess into the castle and see if he could find some answers to his questions.

As he hovered along over the procession, Jack suddenly understood why it was better to not get involved. The pain on the faces of the people who surrounded him made him almost uneasy. He was not accustomed to being sad, his life revolved around being happy. And yet here he was, in search of the mysterious ice princess who had so captivated him. This was exactly what he was getting himself into.

It was then that he realized that keeping his distance made no difference, he already cared about the girl too much to spare himself any pain. The emotional investment was already too great. He didn't want to be apart from her. There in the street he made a resolution to if she was indeed still alive he would do all in his power to get her to believe. He wanted to be around her. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh. He wanted to stand by her side until she went the way of all the earth. He barely even knew her name and yet he knew that she was something he didn't want to give up on.

The procession slowly made it's way to the castle with people peeling off to return to their homes to mourn in peace. By the time they reached the front doors only Princess Anna, Kai and another woman servant by the name of Gerda were left. Jack slipped in above them as they cracked open the doors and stepped inside.

Anna kept her head down as she walked immediately to the stairs. Jack watched as Gerda reached out to grasp the girl, to comfort her, but Kai held her back and gave a slight shake of his head. They both watched sadly as the girl stepped lightly up the stairs followed by an invisible boy in a blue sweater.

Jack's heart again leapt as he realized where they were headed and he stood quietly on the carpet as Anna stopped in front of her sister's door and hesitantly knocked.

"Elsa?" The name was a question in Anna's mouth, "Please, I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been. They say have courage and I'm trying to. I'm right out here for you, just let me in. We only have each other," Her voice faltered for a moment before she continued, "It's just you and me. What are we gonna do?" The broken princess slid to the ground and leaned against the door, utterly devoid of the strength to hold herself up. In a choked voice she made one last request, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Jack got the feeling that was something she had voice frequently in her life, remembering her using the exact words when he had met her the first time. There came no reply from the other side of the door and eventually Anna wrapped her arms around her knees and let her head drop as she cried alone.

**A/N - **

**Hello again from your crazy author. Sorry this chapter ended sort of abruptly without seeing Elsa. I had the entire chapter written, but it was like 3000 words long so I had to split it up and this was the only place to do it. **

**As always thanks for reading :) Hope you enjoyed :) Please review. **

**Love ya! **


	6. Chapter 6

A hollow feeling entered Jack's heart as Anna curled herself up outside her sister's door and cried herself to sleep. Again he felt the need to comfort, but instead he slowly backed away, looking for another way out of the castle. He had yet to see the girl he had come to see, and as much as he wanted to help Princess Anna, he simply couldn't. Standing there didn't change that fact. So he slipped out a window and flew around to the other side of the castle, peering in windows until he located the one he had vacated years before.

The sight he saw inside tore at him, a mirror reflection of the scene he had seen on the other side of the wall. The snow princess too was curled in a ball in front of her doorway, softly breathing with tears slowly drying tracks on her cheeks. She lay at the center of an explosion of frost, with still snowflakes hanging in the air all across the room. It was so tragically beautiful that Jack found himself unable to move for a few moments.

He silently slid the window open and landed on the sill before sliding it shut behind him. The soft bump of the wooden frame hitting the sill caused Elsa to stir. Even though it was irrational for him to do so, Jack froze as if he were caught in the act of doing something wrong. His breath caught in his throat as the girl's eyes slid over him as she studied the window, trying to catch a glimpse of what woke her. Not finding anything, she sat up and stretched before making her way to her bed.

It surprised Jack that she didn't cry. Her parents had just died. Although it was true that Jack didn't understand what that felt like at all. For all he knew, the girl could be acting perfectly normal. But it didn't feel right. Loss left a hole that was never to be filled. If Jack knew about anything, he knew about loss. And so as he watched the girl sit calmly in her bed, the picture of serenity, he couldn't help but feel that something was off.

In the silence of the room, Jack crept forward studying the girl as he did. She pulled unconsciously at her white gloves, tugging them almost off and then pulling them back into place. Not once did she remove them, even though she sat in her bed with the moon risen outside. Now that he was thinking about it, the girl's whole appearance was strange. She was fully clothed with her hair twisted around her head and pulled into a tight bun at the base of her skull, as if she was not supposed to be ready for bed.

Jack stopped at the edge of her bed, staring at the quiet girl in front of him. Well, it wasn't really fair to call her a girl. She had grown in the years that he had been gone. Her frame was still as petite as ever, but no longer the thin flat frame of a girl. There was no mistaking her for the woman that she so undoubtedly was. Jack longed so badly for her to be able to see him. To be able to talk to him. To need him in a way that he was starting to realize he needed her.

Now was as good a moment as any.

To convince her he was going to need something big and showy, as well as a clean slate to work with. It took just seconds to clear the room of Elsa's small explosion. He then gave a light tap with his staff on the ground, and frost expanded in swirling flowers across the floor and up the walls. Jack heard Elsa gasp and practically fall from her bed in her hurry to inspect the swirling picture on her floor. Her wide blue eyes reflected the beauty as Jack continued his show. He stepped to the window and lightly with his finger he traced an intricate snowflake into the frost there and with a beckoning of his hand drew it out of the window. A large three dimensional snowflake danced around the room with a trail of snow following it.

Elsa watched in amazement as the flake spun quickly around her head and then positioned itself right above her before exploding in a mass of perfect snow. She let out a surprised laugh that she couldn't quite explain as the magical show unfolded before her. Wind swirled around her and she felt the unexplainable urge to release her hair and let it float free in the breeze.

Jack loved every minute of his little show, or more specifically, loved the smile that lit up Elsa's face as she watched it. Her smile made her even more beautiful that before. She looked more carefree, it seemed she looked more like herself. Like the Elsa that lived trapped inside the Princess cage.

It was now time for the finale. In once sweeping motion, all the snow and ice disappeared. The winds calmed and silence fell once more over the room. Jack's palms were sweating and his heart pounded in his ears as he prayed once more to whoever was listening that she would see him.

With a raised his arm, and with a shaking hand he began to trace out letters on the bedroom wall. Elsa watched with anticipation as the letters began to form themselves on her wall. She took a step closer to be able to read them clearer.

J-A-C-K F-R-O-S-T

She frowned slightly as she whispered the name to herself, "Jack Frost." The name shone brightly on the wall.

Jack watched with bated breath as the girl mouthed his name again. Was this plan going to work? Would she believe in him? She still frowned in confusion as she turned the words over and over in her mind.

Just when he thought she was on the verge of a break through, she turned away.

Pain was something Jack was not accustomed to. All his life he had never grown attached to anything. He never had anything that he could say that he loved. He never had so he could never lose. It was the way he had been taught to live.

But in that moment, he knew pain. He felt it in a way he knew he would never feel again.

How could he have thought that would work? This was who he was. He was Jack Frost, the anonymous bringer of snow. It was never written for him to be believed in. That was a fact that he resigned himself to in that moment.

But the next moment everything changed. Because the princess whipped around as if something had suddenly struck her.

"Jack Frost!" She exclaimed in excitement.

Slowly her eyes slid over until they rested on the boy himself.

The excitement slid off her face and she suddenly looked very pale as she focused on the sudden apparition before her. Her lips formed a small, "Oh," when the boy stared back at her in astonishment and to Jack's utter surprise and horror she fainted where she stood.

**A/N - **

**She finally sees him! Huzzah! **

**So I just wanted to point out something really quick to you guys. This doesn't really follow the timeline of the book. It started out that it was going to, but if Jack left for a few years before this current chapter and Elsa is only fifteen here that would mean she was only 12 or 11 the last time they met. Sooooooo... I didn't want Jack to be a creeper. Elsa is 18 in this chapter and she was 16 the last time they met. I'm stretching it slightly with the whole age gap thing, but you know... **

**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed as always. You know the drill. Please review :) **

**Love you guys! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Elsa's POV - **

Her eyes flew open, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was that had awoken her. The room stretched out empty in front of her still coated by her explosion earlier. Everything came crashing down on her right then and she felt heavy, unable to push herself off the ground. Yet she managed to roll into a sitting position and she stretched the stiffness from her limbs. The moon shone bright through her window signifying that night had fallen. The day had ended. Her parents were gone. When everyone awoke the next day she would be queen.

She was the queen.

Even the thought of it overwhelmed her. Immediately, she felt herself trying to shut down.

Conceal. Don't feel.

It was almost as if her parents had trained her for her entire life to face this moment.

The problem was that she was never very good at it. Sure, she could put on the facade of calm, but on the inside emotions crashed against her, trying their best to pull her under the surface.

With a mind too full of the events of the day, she climbed into bed, forgetting even to change out of her formal dress or let down her hair.

How could she be queen? She didn't know anything about leading people. She didn't know anything about people at all. Her entire life had been lived inside this room. The only human interaction she got was with anyone besides her parents was with Gerda when she came in to do her hair and help her get dressed. Even though she had been given hundreds of lessons on how to be a good leader, that was all only in theory. There were no lessons that could prepare her for the unknown things that would happen in her kingdom under her rule.

This had all happened too fast. She wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility. Forget the responsibility, she wasn't ready to say goodbye to her parents. In a cruel twist of fate she wasn't even able to attend their funeral. The unstable emotions tearing at her made it too much of a risk. She couldn't even risk opening the door and hugging her sister, the only other person on this planet who understood exactly what she was feeling at that moment.

So instead she sat alone on her bed, fiddling with her gloves as the thoughts in her head made the possibility of sleep the farthest thing from her mind.

What was that? There was a crackling noise filling the room. Elsa's head snapped in all different directions until she located the source of the noise. What she saw made her heart speed up.

Ice was beginning to swirl around the room, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen in her life. Pushing the blankets from her lap, she sprang from the bed to get a closer look at the mysterious force.

It seemed to her the logical thing to be doing at the moment was panic, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. There was something about the spectacle that filled her with a weird sense of joy. She couldn't suppress the smile that spread on her face as a light snow began to fall around her.

It had to be a dream. A gift from her subconscious for all the pain she had endured in the past few days.

A squeaking sound came from her left and she turned just in time to see the last touches of a glorious snowflake drawing itself on the window. Before she could approach the window for a closer look however, the snowflake shot out from the window and flew around the room. The whole situation was so absurd to her that the ice princess couldn't help but laugh as the flake exploded in a shower of snow above her head. One last 360 degree turn revealed a room completely covered in frosty art. Small flowers of ice curled themselves across the floor and up the walls. A slight layer of snow sat in her hair and on her shoulders, but as always she didn't feel their cold. A more beautiful scene could not exist in the entire world.

And in a second it was all gone, taking with it the sudden sense of joy she had felt.

Before Elsa's brain could start to churn itself to create an explanation, something began to appear on the wall before her. In amazement, she watched as the frost began to turn into letters.

"Jack Frost?" She muttered, confused. The name seemed vaguely familiar. As if it belonged to a friend she had once had when she was a child, but who time had stolen her memories of.

Her brain began to turn over, trying to remember the name.

Jack Frost.

Where did she know that name?

Suddenly a memory surfaced in her mind:

_Elsa's father held her on his lap. A book was draped over their legs and her father read the words aloud to her, even though she had learned to read just last year. _

_'In the wintertime, the snow arrived at the hands of Jack Frost.' _

_Here young Elsa interrupted the man, "Who's Jack Frost?" _

_Her father smiled down at her, "He is the bringer of snow. He is the one who makes the ice and the cold here in the wintertime." _

_Little Elsa's face brightened, "He's like me?" Her small hand rested on the book, creating a thin layer of ice over the page in her excitement. _

_The king let out a small chuckle, "Yes, my dearest Elsa, he is very much like you." _

Jolted back to the present, Elsa spun around in excitement, "Jack Frost!" She exclaimed in recognition.

Something flickered in the corner of her vision. Slowly she allowed herself to turn toward it. Again, she didn't feel fear as much as anticipation as little by little something came into focus.

After a few seconds of rapid blinking, there stood a boy in front of her.

A boy.

In her bedroom.

A boy who definitely had not been there a few seconds ago.

He stared at her with as much astonishment as she herself felt at the moment.

Elsa felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at the boy and the boy stared at her.

Any other day she would be able to handle an appearance like this. She had magic herself after all, why shouldn't there be magic in other places?

But that day, she simply could not allow for this. Her head grew dizzy and black appeared on the edge of her vision. After letting out a small "Oh," of surprise, the world swirled to black.

**A/N - **

**I really wanted to tell a little bit of Elsa's perspective of this story, so I will be switching to her occasionally, but it won't be a regular thing. I felt she had some things to add to the story for this chapter and I couldn't help myself. **

**You know the drill. **

**Hope you enjoyed as always. Someday I promise I will get all the kinks worked out of this little story and it won't have as many inconsistencies. I apologize profusely for that. **

**Thanks for reading :) **


	8. Chapter 8

It was by sheer luck that Jack was able to catch Elsa as she fell. In his panic he called up a gust of wind which pushed her toward him and she fell straight into his outstretched arms. The moment was not going quite like he expected.

"Elsa?" He asked cautiously, but she didn't stir. Not to say that he didn't blame her for fainting. This was a very overwhelming day for her. But he also couldn't say he wasn't disappointed. Elsa could finally see him, she finally _believed_ in him and here she was unconscious in his arms. With a huge sigh of resignation he laid her gently on the ground before slipping one arm under her neck and another under her legs and carrying her to her bed. He thought about sliding her under the covers, but he decided it wasn't necessary as she was already wrapped up in gloves and a large dress, there was no way she was cold under all that.

When Elsa was nestled down on her pillow, Jack sat on the foot of the bed and settled in for the long wait for her to awaken. He was oddly grateful for the situation as it gave him time to think about just what he was doing.

This went against every motto he had ever lived by. When emotions began to surface, it was time to hit the road. What was it about this girl that made him completely through all that away?

Sure, she was beautiful, that was some of it. Her creme skin practically glowed in the moonlight that beamed through the window, framed by her icy hair. She was like a perfect porcelain doll.

But it was more than that. The woman intrigued him like no other human ever had. Besides the magical powers that mirrored his own, he wanted to know her. He wanted to know why she didn't attend her parents' funeral. He wanted to sit beside her and make her laugh. She looked so beautiful when she laughed.

The small pang of guilt that he felt at abandoning his post in Australia was quickly squashed as he sat on the bed and watched the night pass by. Sometime before the sun rose in the morning he fell asleep with his head leaning against the bedpost.

It was a large gasp that awoke him.

"You are real."

Jack's eyes shot open just as he shot in the air out of habit. He hovered there for a moment as his eyes focused and his brain reeled as he tried to remember where he was. When his eyes rested on the stunned girl below him it all came flooding back to him.

"You can still see me?" The question came out as an incredulous whisper. The look on her face was all he needed for an answer. A victorious, mid-air loop was in order before he settled back down on the foot of the princess' bed.

For a moment they just stared at each other, one with a goofy grin plastered on his face and the other with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

It was Elsa who finally broke the silence, "I've really lost it."

The delighted grin slid off Jack's face in an instant. The girl swung her legs off the bed and started pacing the floor, muttering to herself.

"It must have been the pressure of becoming queen that did it. I'm hallucinating. It's the only explanation. There is not a boy sitting on my bed. I am alone. I am all alone in this room." She stopped pacing and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"I am alone." She seemed as if she was trying to convince herself of that fact.

Jack gave a small apologetic wave as she reopened her eyes to find he had not disappeared, "Sorry. Not a hallucination."

The princess held out one gloved hand as if to hold him back, "Yes. You are."

Jack pushed off from the bed and landed in front of her, gripping tight to his staff, "I'm really not. I'm Jack Frost, the spirit of winter. I am invisible to humans until they believe in me. You obviously believe in me or I wouldn't be here." He gave a small shrug, "Sorry, I'm not going to disappear anytime soon." What he didn't say was he wasn't going to leave until she truly believed in his existence. Not as a hallucination, but as a real person of flesh and blood.

She stared at him almost fearfully, "You can't be real." Her hand reached out as if touching him would somehow prove one way or the other.

Seizing the opportunity, Jack reached up and grabbed her hand in one of his and laced his fingers through hers, "See? Not translucent."

Elsa flinched slightly when he touched her and after a moment she slipped her hand out of his and let it fall to her side, her cheeks slightly reddened. Jack couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed, he had lived too long alone to be reluctant about anything.

Something seemed to give slightly in her mannerisms. "Did you really do all those things last night?" Elsa asked in wonder.

Jack grinned a too-big grin, "You mean this?" With another thump of his staff, ice began again to curl over the floor.

Elsa watched it with both elation and incredulousness, "You're just like me." She whispered. Jack nodded when she looked back up at him and again they stared at each other, each afraid that the other would somehow disappear.

After a few moments of silence, however, Elsa's eyes hardened.

"You cannot be real. You cannot be here. None of this makes any sense." Elsa threw her hands up in exasperation and turned away from the boy in the frosted blue sweater. Just looking at him made her confused. She needed to clear her head. This wasn't healthy. The last thing she needed right now was some hallucination following her around as she got ready for the coronation she was sure would be happening soon. She simply did not have the time or patience to deal with a mental breakdown right now.

Jack too was feeling a small bit of impatience at the moment and it made him impulsive. He did not have time to prove to this stubborn woman that he was real, time after time. Australia was still waiting and he wasn't leaving until she believed in him 100%.

In a reckless move that was completely in character, Jack reached out and grabbed Elsa's hand. With a tug he spun her around and before she could protest, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

**A/N - **

**I am so so so so so sorry that I have not updated this sooner. Summer was not quite as carefree and much more busy than I expected and time got away from me. **

**So I put some fluff in this chapter as a sort of apology for that and also for what I'm about to tell you. **

**I'm going camping for the next week from Monday until Friday. **

**Therefore I am not going to be updating on any of those days. **

**I so apologize for that. **

**Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. I am terribly emotionally invested in this story and I hate abandoning it, even if it is for just a short while. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. **

**I'm going to try my very hardest to get up another chapter tonight before I go to bed, but if it doesn't happen, I'm sorry. **

**I promise I'm going to up the updates when I get back so as to make up for the entire week I missed. **

**You all know the drill, read and review. If you have any predictions or wishes of things you want to see in future chapters, hit me up, I'll see what I can do for you :) **

**I love you all and I'm so sorry again. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Elsa's POV - **

Elsa very nearly fainted again. Jack's kiss was just a whisper on her lips, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. As it was, lightning shot down her spine making her knees grow weak as she melted into him. Everything went out of her head: her parents, her sister, her responsibilities, everything. At that moment, nothing mattered but the boy who still held her hand in his as he leaned over her.

When he finally pulled away, she could do nothing but stare dreamily up at him. She'd never kissed a boy before. Come to think of it, she'd never even been alone in a room with a boy, much less touched one.

And then the world snapped back like a rubber band in her brain. There were things to be done, plans to make, people to see and here she was staring at a boy like an idiot. She pulled farther away and shook her head to clear it, "I have to go. I need to find Kai and Gerda." She started to make a list of duties to herself as Jack watched her bemusedly. When she finally stopped talking she turned back to him.

The way he stared at her seemed to take all the air out of the room. It made her feel like she was the most beautiful diamond in all the world. Like she wasn't a danger to everyone around her. The thought someone would ever look at her like that was just ridiculous to her. She was nothing special. In fact she was more like an avalanche waiting to happen, something you stare at in horror and no matter what you do, you can't seem to look away.

"I need to go. You won't leave will you?" The question was tentative and she felt silly even asking it. Why would he want to sit around in her room all day, waiting for her? It was selfish of her to expect anything from this boy that she didn't know. This boy that she _kissed_. Even the memory of it was enough to send butterflies flapping in her stomach and a blush to her cheeks.

Jack chuckled slightly as her face turned bright red, "I won't leave." He agreed.

Elsa gave him a smile that caused his heart to squeeze before she backed up to the door, "Okay. I will be back as soon as I can." Jack nodded to her and settled himself on a chair. She stared at him for just a bit longer, memorizing him in case he disappeared while she was away.

With a click she pulled the door open behind her and turned to exit the room, but instead she tripped over something soft. A small groan sounded from the floor and she curled around to see the object she had tripped over was no object at all, it was her sister, Anna.

Elsa's heart leapt at the closeness of the two of them. She had not been this close to her sister since before the accident. Instinct kicked in immediately, however, and she scrambled to her feet away from the red headed princess, her arms curling protectively around her waist. It was not for her own protection, but for the protection of the other princess. Her powers were a danger to everyone around her, especially at this time of heightened emotion.

"Elsa?" Anna asked from the floor as she pushed herself sleepily to her feet. She was still shrouded in black as she had spent the night on the floor after the funeral.

Elsa straightened up and backed away ever so slightly, "What are you doing, Anna?"

Anna looked hurt by the ice in Elsa's voice, but it couldn't be helped. Conceal. Don't feel. That was the only way Elsa would ever be able to protect her younger sister.

Anna's lower lip trembled slightly as she answered, "I just… needed someone, Elsa. I need you. You're my sister. You're the only person I have left and I didn't want to be alone."

Elsa felt her mask slip a little and her heart squeeze painfully in her chest as she stared at the broken girl. Her inability to reach out and comfort her baby sister was killing her.

But she could never let Anna know that.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she whispered the words before turning sharply to hide the tears pooling in her eyes and retreating down the hallways. She caught a quick glimpse of Jack in her doorway, watching the exchange, but she didn't acknowledge him and she continued away.

Perhaps it had all been a big mistake. She couldn't possibly be thinking of harboring a secret boy in her room right after her parents had died. What kind of daughter was she? She was selfish and foolish. Jack had to go. There was no way he could stay.

And yet even as she thought the words, her chest constricted in protest. She didn't want him to go. He was the first person to really make her feel alive. When he was there, she didn't feel like such an outcast. He made her feel like she was someone he enjoyed being with, and that was a feeling she had never felt in her entire life.

It was a tug of war between her heart and her head and eventually her head won out. She could not allow this boy or anyone else to distract her from the task at hand and that was running her kingdom. Thousands of lives depended on her being able to keep a cool head and a locked up heart.

That was the truth of the matter. Jack just had to go.

Elsa pushed away the pain the decision brought her and she stepped into the council room. A meeting had not officially been called, but inside she found Kai, her head servant, Adolphus, the kingdom's defensive tactician, Kara, her mother's lady-in-waiting, and Davin, her parent's all around advisor. They fell silent and stood as she took her place at the head of the table. She pressed her hands to her sides to keep them from shaking and took her seat first, signaling them to take their seats as well.

_You can do this, Elsa. You can do this. _

**A/N - **

**So I did get one more chapter up tonight. Kinda a miracle really... **

**Hope you all enjoyed. **

**I'll be back in a week. Know that I love you all and I will miss you terribly. Please don't disappear on me. I will be back. I promise. If you follow you'll get notifications when my story is updated. Just a thought. **

**Anyway, I hope you are all here when I get back. **

**Goodbye :) **


	10. Chapter 10

Kissing people was not something Jack normally did as a pastime, but as he pulled away from the beautiful girl, he thought it was something he could definitely pick up. The glazed eyes that stared up at him almost made him laugh. She had to be as out of practice as he was, judging by the dazed look on her face that was more open than he had ever seen her. The blue of her eyes was softer, more liquid, more human.

It didn't take her more than a few seconds to close back down again, however. Disappointment washed through him as the princess stepped back and shook her head slightly.

"I have to go. I need to find Kai and Gerda."

There was something terribly alluring about the way she paced around the room and spoke to herself. Jack couldn't quite place what made her so beautiful. It was frustrating for him to not be able to form a coherent thought when he looked at her. When she turned back to him, her crystal eyes caught him off guard and he could do nothing but stare at her, captivated in her gaze but saddened by the ice he again found there.

"I need to go," she again repeated at a safe distance away from him. Again, she softened slightly, "You won't leave will you?"

Jack wished he could explain that there was nothing in the entire world that could make him leave at that moment, but he got the feeling that was something she wouldn't understand. A blush crept up into her pale cheeks and Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"I won't leave," he promised.

His breath caught in his throat as a smile blossomed on Elsa's face.

"Okay. I will be back as soon as I can."

Utterly unable to speak, Jack nodded and then as if to show his commitment to stay, he backed into a chair and settled in for the wait.

He didn't stay seated for long, however, as Elsa tripped out of her own doorway. Jack rose to see if he could offer any assistance, but stopped when he saw the look on her face as she examined the bundle laying at the foot of her door.

"Elsa?" A sleepy voice emanated from the fabric and Jack realized it was Princess Anna, still in the same position he had left her in the night before.

Wow. The night before. It seemed like a million years ago. So much had happened between then and the present moment. He felt like a completely different person.

Jack watched silently the strange exchange between the two sisters, studying Elsa. It seemed to Jack that she wasn't happy with the arrangement between the two of them. She kept her distance, with her arms wrapped around herself protectively, but her eyes looked longingly at her sister's face. Every second more that he watched them, the more confused he was about their relationship.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Jack heard the Snow Princess whisper before making her retreat. Her eyes flickered momentarily to him as she passed the door, but she didn't acknowledge his existence. He looked back over at the other princess who had been left behind. Her face was crumpled in a mask of pain and tears streamed from her eyes as she stared after the sister she barely knew. After a few minutes, the tears dried and she looked silently at the open doorway to her right.

Jack could see the curiosity in her face as she looked right through him into the room. Hesitantly, the girl stepped into the doorway and Jack stepped back to avoid being walked through.

"What are you doing?" He asked aloud, the question completely useless as the girl couldn't hear him. Anna looked quickly over her shoulder before she stepped fully into the room and pulled the door shut behind her. With wondering eyes she walked around the room, marveling at the furniture and decorations.

Curiosity grabbed ahold of Jack as well as he watched her. It seemed as if the princess before him had never seen this room. She walked as if afraid of being caught. It was all very strange to Jack. They were sisters weren't they? If they were, they sure didn't act like it and Jack had a nagging feeling that the stiff relationship had a little something to do with ice.

Anna finished her walk around the room and had stopped in front of a portrait that was hung to the side of the large four poster bed. Jack stopped as he realized he recognized all three of the women in the picture.

Two small princesses stood by the side of a woman who Jack recognized as a younger version of the queen he had met the first time he visited this castle. Young Anna and Elsa looked happier than Jack imagined they could and he silently wondered if that was an embellishment by the artist.

Anna stared at her younger self as she clutched the hand of her older sister and stood by the side of the mother she had lost. Jack could see the aching loss in her face and again discomfort rose within him. The need to comfort her was strong, but again he pushed it away, telling himself there was nothing he could do. Eventually, Anna gave up on the picture and climbed into the bed beside her.

What happened to this family? Jack wondered to himself as he crept silently back to his chair. He had seen the close relationship between the king and queen and Anna, but Elsa…. she seemed to be a different story altogether.

These thoughts consumed the blue sweatered boy as he sat in his chair watching the sleeping princess. It was hours before Elsa returned.

The sound of the door opening startled him and he fell sideways out of the chair, his joints creaking in protest of being stationary for so long. Anna woke with a sharp intake of breath as Elsa stepped into the room.

The white-haired princess looked back and forth between her sister and the boy still flopped on the floor. Anna sat up with what looked like a red bush on her head. A smile twitched on Elsa's face as she caught a glimpse of her sister's bed head, but was gone within moments.

"Anna, what are you doing in here?" Jack noted that she again wrapped her arms around her waist, clutching at herself as she walked into the room, giving the bed and the princess on it, a wide berth.

Anna looked sheepishly at her sister through a mess of tangled hair, "It's been so long since we've really talked." It wasn't really an answer, but Elsa accepted it all the same.

She sighed, running her hand over her face, paying Jack no mind as he sat in his chair, "I know, Anna. But right now is really the worst of all possible times. I have to start getting ready for my coronation and I have to get the kingdom prepared for my rule. I just don't have the time right now."

A hurt look passed over the younger girl's face, "That's exactly why we should talk! Elsa, please! I'm here for you, you just have to talk to me!"

Jack couldn't see Elsa's face, but her tone was pleading as she whispered, "Anna, I can't."

Anna stared in disbelief which quickly escalated to anger, "It's always you can't. Have you ever thought about what I need, Elsa?! What did I ever do to you?!"

Elsa took half a step forward and then stopped herself, "I am thinking of you, Anna. I can't…" Her voice choked off and she steeled herself, "I'm sorry. You need to go."

The younger sister shook her head in angry disbelief before sliding off the bed and sweeping out of the room.

The silence left by the slamming of the door was deafening and neither Elsa nor Jack moved. After what felt to Jack like an eternity, Elsa sighed again and turned to face him, her face a mask.

He could tell what was coming wasn't going to be good.

Without looking at him, Elsa spoke, "You too, Jack," and then after a moment, "You need to leave."

**A/N - **

**I'm baaaaack :) **

**It's been a long week. I've missed Jack and Elsa. And true to my word I'm going to be getting at least three chapters up today. So stay tuned. **

**Please drop me a review if you feel so inclined :) **

**I missed you guys! **

**Thanks for reading :) **


	11. Chapter 11

The words echoed loudly in Jack's brain. _You need to leave_. He couldn't leave. Not now that she could see him. There was nothing that could possibly make him leave, he had promised himself that, and to some extent he had promised Elsa that. The squeezing of his heart lessened as he thought.

He would not leave her. Something about her touched him, it flared up an instinct within him that he hadn't felt before. It made him braver than he'd ever been.

And so with an air of reckless abandon he retorted, "No."

Elsa was clearly surprised by his answer, "What?" She asked in complete disbelief. He was refusing to leave?

Jack nodded stubbornly and sat down in the chair again, "No. I will not leave." He crossed his arms over his chest in protest as he stared down the princess.

Elsa too crossed her arms over her chest in anger, "You cannot stay! I have so much that I need to do and I cannot have you here distracting me! I…" she fumbled over her words a little but pushed on, "I am the queen of Arendelle now and I have to start acting like it. I simply cannot have you here. I cannot harbor some boy in my room when I am the queen. You must go."

She again watched in disbelief as Jack shook his head thoughtfully and raised himself slowly to his feet. As he rose he didn't look at her. He glared at the ground as he tried to form the words in his head that would make her see how much she needed him, and how much he needed her.

After a few moments of silence, he raised his head and looked Elsa in the eyes, "Elsa," he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "I know I don't know you very well, and you don't know me at all, but I cannot leave. Since I've been here, you've made me feel like I have never ever felt before. Like I could have someone who cares about me. You make me feel… man…" he struggled to find the words, "You make me feel like I am alive and that's something I've never felt before. For fifty years I've been alone," he saw her eyes widen at the number, "With no one able to see or hear me. It has been the worst existence, but then… then I met you.

Here, he again looked up and met her eyes, "I met you and it changed. You captivated me since the first time I saw you. Not just because you are ridiculously beautiful," a blush set fire to the ice in Elsa's cheeks at these words, "But also because you know loneliness. I've seen it. I see it in the way you talk to your sister. I can see it in this room. But I've also seen something else. Just after I kissed you," again he fumbled over his words in embarrassment, but he plowed on, "There's something in you, Elsa and I don't think you've even figured it out. And if you make me go, you might never get the chance to."

Jack took a tentative step toward the frozen girl, "But if you let me stay, I can help you." That was where he ended his little speech. He didn't want to tell her how much he needed to stay, that if he left he might not ever fully recover. She was his first believer, that would always make her special in his mind. Jack was afraid if he told Elsa these things he might scare her off. So he swallowed them down and watched expectantly as Elsa digested his words.

Just as Jack had done, Elsa looked at the ground as she gathered her words. She simply did not understand why he cared so much. Didn't he understand what a danger she was to him? And then it hit her: he didn't know. He didn't know how dangerous she really was. He was completely oblivious to her powers. Or so she thought.

Her hands shook as she brought them out in front of her and pulled the gloves from them. This was necessary, she told herself. Jack had to understand what she was. She was a monster who could not be trusted. A monster who had almost killed her own sister. With a quick flip of her wrist, she discarded the gloves to the side. With a great shaking breath, she dropped her hands to her side and allowed her powers to take ahold.

Jack watched with great anticipation. He knew somewhat that she had powers, but he wasn't at all certain what she was capable of. Great icy spike grew from the ground beneath her and the temperature dropped dramatically. Not that it bothered either of them really.

A sad look crossed Elsa's face as she watched his face for the fear she knew was coming. She would lose him, she had prepared herself for that before she had reentered the room. As much as she protested that he needed to go, in her heart of hearts, she knew that when he left, it would hurt. But she was no stranger to pain. She had just lost her parents after all. If she could live through that, she could live through the loss of this practical stranger.

The ice princess watched closely, but didn't see the fear as ice daggers grew around her. In fact, he didn't even look startled. He almost looked excited. She balled her hands up in fists and bent down to pick up her gloves.

Jack almost smiled at the confusion that darkened the woman's face, "You're not as terrifying as you think you are."

Elsa looked as if she wanted to be mad, but she couldn't get past her confusion, "Are you not frightened?"

Jack laughed aloud and tapped his staff on the ground. The spiked began to recede until they were just a coating on the ground. With another slight tap from him, the ice swirled out until the room looked like a pond in the middle of winter. Elsa's eyes were wide as she watched.

"I am not frightened of you. I will never be frightened of you, Elsa." Jack took another step toward her until they were just inches apart from each other. His voice dropped until it was just a murmur, "The real question is: why are you?"

Elsa stared up with wide frightened eyes. Flashbacks of the accident shot across her mind, the tale just on the tip of her tongue until all at once the words spilled out in a frantic whisper,

"It happened when I was really young. Back then Anna and I were really close. My powers were already strong, and I didn't know how to control them at all. Anna and I were just children. We used them for childish things. One night, Anna talked me into going to the ballroom to make a snowman. That was our favorite thing to do, by far." Jack had a sudden vision of the younger Anna in a pile of his snow, looking around with bright eyes at the other village kids, asking: _do you wanna build a snowman? _

"Anyway, we were just playing around and she was jumping off of my snow mounds. She was going to fast and I couldn't keep up. She jumped and I tried to catch her, but I slipped on my ice and instead I hit Anna. It was right in her head," Elsa's eyes looked haunted as she shivered at the memory in her head, "My parents rushed her to the trolls who were able to save her, but they took away her memories of my powers. My parents decided it would be best if until I could control my powers that they keep me away from all people, even Anna. They helped me to conceal my power. Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show." She repeated her mantra and her heart stabbed with pain because of the loss of her parents, "I've been in here ever since."

Jack's throat constricted as he listened, feeling slightly sick as he imagined it. No child should ever have to go through that. No one should ever have to live being afraid of themselves.

"Elsa," There were tears in her blue eyes as she looked up at Jack, "That was not your fault. None of it was your fault. You have nothing to be afraid of."

A shiver ran down Jack's spine as the room darkened suddenly and a voice whispered out of the shadows,_ "Oh, but I think she does."_

**A/N - **

**Oooooooo things are really getting started now. Not really. I still have some fluff I want to write before we get into the really heavy things. **

**Anyway I know I didn't get it in yesterday. Technically right now it is 12:20 and it's tomorrow, but I haven't slept yet so to me it's still today. I'm gonna finish another chapter tonight. I promise. **

**So, you know the drill. **

**Love you guys :) Thank you for the reviews! **


	12. Chapter 12

Jack did something that he had absolutely never done before: he froze in fear. The voice was one he didn't recognize, but it struck a spike of fear right through his hear. A soul-chilling laugh echoed through him and the darkness began to seep away until it was gone.

One look down at Elsa and he knew she heard nothing. Small tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes and dripped to the ice below their feet. Jack struggled to keep his emotions in check: he couldn't burden her with this right now. Not when she had so much more on her mind. With great difficulty, he pushed the voice from his mind even though his hands were still shaking. He could deal with that later. Right now, Elsa was the most important thing to deal with.

With a hand that he forced to stop shaking, he cupped the chin of the trembling woman before him, "Elsa?" He was pleased that his voice didn't shake, "Elsa you were a child. You cannot be blamed for anything that happened. It was an accident, nothing more."

Elsa's voice was a broken whisper, "I almost killed her. I almost killed my baby sister."

Shaking his head firmly, with anger flaring inside of him Jack spoke over her, "It was an accident! You cannot live your entire life believing that you are a danger to everyone around you. That is no way to go about your life." He was dying to reprimand her parents. They had taken a child and turned her against herself. No child deserves to live trying to hid inside themselves. He knew they had done their best in the situation they had found themselves in, but there were better ways they could have handled it. In ways that wouldn't have damaged their daughter. Jack swallowed down his anger, however, for the sake of the broken princess. Tears still streamed down her face and unconsciously snow began to fall around them.

"I know I can't expect you to believe me," Jack chuckled and ran his hand through his hair before dropping it to his side, "I mean we did just meet, but I can help you if you let me."

"I don't want to hurt you." Elsa protested, but she couldn't help but feel a flare of hope inside her.

The both of them jumped when a knock sounded at the door, "Your Highness?" Elsa recognized the voice as belonging to Gerda. She quickly swiped at her eyes with her gloved hand and called back in a voice that was slightly too high.

"Yes? What is it, Gerda?" Jack smirked his signature half smile as Elsa turned back to him and blushed a fiery red as she realized how close they were. She stepped away and turned her whole body to the door where Gerda was answering,

"I have the seamstress here, m'lady. She's come to measure you and your sister for your coronation dresses."

The fading blush in Elsa's cheeks disappeared instantly as she went completely pale. The coronation dress. She had forgotten again about her duties. Turning back to Jack with an almost panicked look on her face she was about to tell him to leave again, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. What could it hurt to have him around to the measurements? He wasn't hurting anything.

"Yes, one moment Gerda." The soon-to-be queen rushed across the room to the mirror on the wall. With rushed movements, she smoothed her perfect hair down and stared at herself to make sure she was presentable. After she decided she was as good as she was going to get, she caught a glimpse of the ice that still coated the ground. She flipped around in panic before she looked pleadingly at Jack,

"Could you…?" She gestured hopelessly to the ice.

Jack obliged by tapping for the third time on the ground and the ice swirled itself out of existence. Elsa sighed in relief and then rushed to the door.

Outside stood two women. One was a slightly larger woman in a green dress. She had a kind, round face and she stared at Elsa with love and tenderness. Jack was suddenly glad that Elsa had this woman in her life, someone who loved her so. Beside the woman who Jack assumed was Gerda was another woman, who couldn't have been more opposite.

Her hair was pulled into a tight but with two stick holding it in place. Cheekbones stuck out sharply from her face on a head that sat upon a long neck. The woman's thinness was almost off-putting.

Both women bowed to the princess out of respect and Elsa stood back to allow them access to her room. The thin woman strode in right away, pulling out measuring tape as she did from a small bag on her shoulder.

Jack's interest lasted only so long as time after time the tape was pulled here and there and held up in every possible place on the princess. Instead, Jack wandered around the room, examining the things there.

The only thing that distinguished the room from any of the other abandoned rooms in the castle was the portrait that hung on the wall and two small dolls that sat on the dresser. One was dressed in a blue dress with two blonde pigtails poking out from each side of the head. The other was folded into a green dress with two red pigtails. Heavy dust had gathered on the top of the dresser, but not on the dolls. They sat in pristine condition on their throne.

Jack turned and saw Elsa eying him as he examined the dolls. He smirked and pointed to them, "Still play with dolls I see? I knew there had to be a fatal flaw." Elsa began to laugh, but she quickly tried to pass it off as a cough to avoid looking foolish.

The seamstress eyed the coughing woman suspiciously before rolling up her tape and dropping it back in her purse.

"Is there a specific color you would like your dress to be? With your skin tone and hair color, I would suggest a dark blue or teal. Purple also wouldn't look amiss."

Elsa shook her head, "I trust your judgement. I leave all creative liberties up to you."

The seamstress nodded respectfully again and bowed herself out of the room. Gerda turned to the princess and grabbed ahold of her hands, looking with concern into her face.

"How are you, my dear? Really?" The servant's face was a mask of concern, "I know this a most difficult time for you and your sister."

At the mention of Anna, pain shot across Elsa's face and she glanced quickly to Jack and then immediately away, "I am okay, Gerda. Really. How is Anna?"

Gerda didn't answer as she looked once again for pain in Elsa's eyes, "She misses you terribly. She wants so badly to talk to you."

This was what Elsa loved so much about her servant. She wasn't afraid to tell Elsa the truth. She wouldn't sugar coat it.

"I miss her too." Gerda nodded in acknowledgement of the woman's pain before gathering her up into the largest of hugs.

After planting a kiss on the younger girl's head, Gerda released her, "Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, Princess." Elsa nodded gratefully and the older woman left.

"I like her." Jack stated as the door swung shut.

Elsa laughed weakly before dropping down onto the foot of her bed, suddenly sapped of all strength. This was really happening. She was going to be queen. The weight of that responsibility was hitting her in waves.

Jack plopped down on the bed, looking over at her. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another knock. They both frowned in confusion.

The knock hadn't come from the door, it had come from the window. The two of them looked to the window to see a person hovering just outside with a smile and a wave.

**A/N - **

**So here you go. Third update today! Woo hoo!**

**You all really have user 'I am my secret' to thank for this third update. I was whisked away this afternoon by an overexcited friend who wanted to see fireworks and I wasn't going to update a third time because I didn't have time. But then I got a review that said they were excited for the third update...**

**So you see reviewing can get you more updates more often...**

**Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. **

**Thanks :) **


	13. Chapter 13

"Sandy!" Jack exclaimed, a smile spreading over his face. He got to his feet and crossed the room to let in his friend as Elsa squinted at the small man.

"Sandy?" she asked. The window clicked open and the little man stepped inside.

Jack held his hand out, "Elsa, meet The Sandman. Sandy, this is Elsa." Sandy didn't reply, he merely smiled at the princess and waved again.

Elsa's face had gone pale again. "The Sandman?" she shook her head, "How many of you are real?" Jack laughed and slapped Sandy on the back. Small figures began to appear above the small man: an easter egg, a candy cane, a tooth, a laurel wreath, a roman colosseum. On and on the pictures went while Jack looked on in amusement and Elsa in confusion. When the rapid fire figures faded, Sandy looked expectantly at the woman still sitting on the foot of her bed. Elsa in turn looked helplessly at Jack who once again laughed.

"Sandy isn't the best communicator. What he was trying to convey was that every fable is rooted in truth. If there is someone out there who believes in it, it exists. The Man in the Moon makes it that way."

Elsa spoke slowly, "So what you're trying to say is that every legend I've ever heard is true? Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny? They all really exist?" Sandy nodded and gave her two thumbs up. "Every single one of them?" Jack nodded, his smile still wide on his face. Elsa looked back and forth between the tall boy in the frosty blue sweater and the squat man floating just a few inches off the ground and then closed her eyes.

"I really did lose it. This is not happening right now."

Jack groaned loudly in frustration and pulled a hand down his face, "Elllsaaaaa."

The girl only shook her head and kept her eyes shut tight, "No. I'm going to open my eyes and both of you will be gone."

While she took several deep breaths, Jack stepped towards her, stopping so that his face was just inches from hers. Tenderly he brought both hands up to her face, tucking his fingers behind her ears. She flinched when he touched her, and her eyes remained close.

"Elsa, we've been through this." Jack's voice was low and his cool breath washed over the stubborn girl's skin. A chill ran down her spine and before she could stop it, snow began to swirl around them.

Both hearts fluttered uncontrollably in both youths' chests as Elsa slowly opened her eyes. "You cannot be real…" she whispered. She finished the sentence in her head, afraid to tell him out loud:_ You cannot be real, because I don't deserve you to be real._

Warm blue eyes stared into crystal ones, "Elsa, come on."

Ever so slowly, the ice melted from Elsa's eyes and tears forced their ways down her cheeks.

What neither of them saw through the blizzard of snow was Sandy staring at the two of them with concern. He stared at the back of Jack's sweater and shook his head sadly, silently willing the boy to turn around, to stop this before it went too far. But anyone could see it already had and both the boy and the girl were in for a world of pain because of it.

The tears were good enough for Jack. He released Elsa's face and took a small step back, "Good." With a quick turn, he caught a glimpse of Sandy's tortured face. His stomach clenched with guilt, but he pretended not to notice, "What's up, Sandy?"

Before giving a proper explanation, Sandy looked sadly at the pink-faced girl as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and stood. With another dejected shake of his head he turned back to Jack. A large sandy rendition of the continent of Australia hovered in the air, followed by a question mark. Jack gave another loud groan.

"What difference does it make if I'm there or not? Australia doesn't have proper winters anyway."

Sandy pointed insistently to the continent and back at Jack. In another second the continent faded and a moon replaced it.

Anger flared in the eyes of Jack Frost, "What's he going to do if I don't do my duty? He hasn't been seen since the day he made me a spirit." It startled Elsa to see him so mad. It was so different from his normally laid back personality. She turned to see what Sandy's next move would be.

Little countries and states began popping up one after another. After each one, Jack became more and more defeated until he gave up completely when a small child popped up above Sandy's head. With a sigh he relented, "Fine."

Sandy's face brightened with a smile which quickly faded when he saw Elsa. This gesture was not lost on the girl and she looked to Jack for an explanation.

"Can you give us a few minutes, Sandy? I'll be along soon." Sandy gave a quick nod and floated to the open window. He gave Jack one last stern look before he exited to wait for the winter spirit on the roof.

Elsa turned back to Jack, "What was that all about?"

Jack stepped over and grabbed her startled hands in his as he started to speak, "The other spirits don't approve of getting close to humans, because we live forever," he flinched when she stifled a gasp, "I know. Forever is a long time. We're not supposed to form emotional attachments to the mortals because it always ends badly."

Elsa simply stared at him as he spoke, her mind moving a hundred miles a minute. Hadn't she wanted him to leave? That was what she had decided. But here his leaving was staring her in the face and she couldn't get past the part of her brain that was screaming for her to hold on to him and never let him go. She didn't want him to go, but immortality threw a huge wrench in that. There was no way she could let him get close to her because she would get old. She was going to die someday, there was no way around that fact, and if he cared for her as much as it seemed that he did, her death would hurt him. She couldn't let that happen.

Allowing him to stay would be an incredibly selfish thing to do. That was not how she'd been raised. If she told him to leave now, it would hurt him, but not nearly as much as it could. He had only known her for a few days. He would get over it.

Jack's voice permeated her thoughts, "Elsa? Where are you?"

She mumble a sorry and looked back up at him. His eyes were wide with fervent emotion as he continued, "The choice is up to you, Elsa. I will go if you want me to. I will go and never come back. But if you feel the same way about this as I do," he paused as he reached up to cup her chin again, "Then at least give us a chance."

Elsa's throat closed up as she knew what she had to do. She could barely choke out the, "You have to go," as she stood on her toes and performed her small act of selfishness.

She wrapped both of her slender arms around his neck, pulling him as close as she could before he was gone forever. Jack allowed both of his arms to slide around her waist and he lifted her off of his feet.

They both held on as tight as they could and Elsa's tears chased each other down her cheeks.

The kiss tasted like goodbye.

Eventually, Elsa moved to place a kiss on Jack's temple. Her whisper was barely audible, even to Jack, "I'm so sorry."

Jack held the thin girl aloft in his arms for just a few moment more, memorizing her, before softer than a whisper he set her back on the ground, "Me too."

And just as he had years before, Jack Frost disappeared on a gust of wind.

**A/N - **

**I'm sorry. I am so so sorry. This chapter hurts me as much as it hurts you. I guarantee. **

**Just one note: I don't update on Sundays, as most of you might have noticed from yesterday. Sorry if that causes any inconveniences for anyone... I don't see how it could, but I'm sorry nonetheless. **

**Anyway, we're still in the three updates a day trend here so not to worry, two more chapters are coming your way today. **

**Love you guys :) **

**sorry about the angst... sorta... Angst is what makes my fan fiction world go round. **

**But you know... **


	14. Chapter 14

Traveling with Sandy wasn't much better than traveling alone Jack soon found out. The silence practically suffocated him as he wallowed in his misery. As they flew away from Arendelle, Jack couldn't help but look back at the window that had caused him so much pain. There was no shadowy outline of a woman in the doorway. Jack didn't expect there to be.

It was a long flight from Arendelle. To Jack it seemed to take twice as long as the flight there had. Of course, the first time he was going probably twice as fast in his effort to get to the woman he thought was dead. There was a magnetic pull that wouldn't let up as the two silent men flew. Jack figured there always would be.

He ran a hand through his hair as he ran, trying to remember every detail of their goodbye. The taste of her lips on his, the coolness of her cheek as she whispered her apology. As much as he tried, he knew that she would haunt his dreams probably for the rest of his existence. There was a constant squeezing in his chest and it dawned on him now why humans always called it a broken heart.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he turned to see Sandy staring at him with concern. Above his head, a large thumbs up appeared followed by a question mark. Okay?

Jack shook his head and turned back to stare at the ground as they flew, "Not yet Sandy my friend. Not yet."

The Sandman nodded his head in grim understanding and opted not to push the subject. This wasn't something he could fix. It was something that the broken hearted young man would have to deal with on his own.

The hours passed in heavy silence as the sun set behind them and darkness settled. Sandy once again placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. This was his time to work his magic. He pointed at Jack and then back at himself. Jack, who had spent fifty years struggling to understand the man, understood immediately.

"Thanks for the offer Sandy, but I think I'm gonna go rest. It's been a long day. I'm sorry I kept you from your duties this long." It was always nighttime somewhere. Sandy was never really off the clock.

The kind-faced man placed another reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder and Jack struggled to give him a smile. He only succeeded in pulling off a small grimace. "Thanks, Sandy," his murmur could barely be heard over the crying of the wind. Sandy gave him a sad smile and a nod before zipping off toward the nearest town of waiting children.

This place looked as good as any a place to rest before he finished his trip to Australia. Jack coaxed the winds to bring him gently to the ground. As much as the cold didn't bother him, heat annoyed him twice as much and there was plenty of it around him. Soon he was cocooned in a layer of snow and ice. To anyone passing by it was probably an odd sight indeed, but at the moment Jack could not care less.

As the night sounds echoed around him, his brain returned to Arendelle and the princess that he had left there. Thinking about her left him with a hollow feeling. He had lost his only believer, the woman he had come to care about and maybe even love if he left himself think about it.

Yet, as he thought about it, a realization came to him. He would not have had it any other way. The woman lived in his memory now, a burning light in the darkness that was his pain. The way she blushed when he stood to near. How she muttered to herself when she was frustrated. The way her icy exterior melted when he kissed her. Those were moments he would not have traded for the world. While he definitely would have preferred to be with her in person, he would hold on to her memory.

It was a hollow comfort, but a comfort nonetheless, and he fell asleep with the sound of her laughter playing in his ears.

After what seemed like only moments, Jack was jolted awake. A dark face loomed above him and when his eyes focused he saw that he recognized it.

"Hey Deck," he yawned out sleepily. Nightmares still hovered on the edge of his memory. His sleep had not been a very restful one to say the least.

The summer spirit pulled him to his feet and watched carefully as Jack brushed himself off, "Hey Jack. How are you?" Flashes of memories flitted across Jack's closed eyelids and he shrugged.

"Alright, I suppose." Word really travelled fast around the immortal community. Especially when mortals were involved. It didn't surprise Jack in the least the way Deck looked at him. He expected it in fact, "Did someone send you here to babysit me?"

It was Deck's turn to shrug as he avoided the other boy's eyes, "North might have said something to me. A little." He waved his hand in a vague manner as Jack glared at him.

"Well he shouldn't have bothered. I'm fine." This was a complete lie, but there was nothing Deck could do to fix what was wrong with him. The only person who could do that had banished him from her presence.

Deck leapt into the air after Jack as he began to make his way towards Australia. None of the immortals were any good at relationships. They'd all been without them for too long. North had sent him to Jack with the instructions: _Make sure he is alright._ "Jack! They're just worried about you."

The snow spirit let out a derisive snort, "The Guardians? Worried about me? That would be a sight to see. Mund is probably beside himself."

Deck didn't like this cruel Jack Frost, but he didn't know what to do about it. So he flew by his side for a little until they came to the ocean border. As he slowed to a stop, Jack reluctantly did too. After a few moments of awkward silence in which both boys tried to think of something to tell the other, Deck finally said, "Watch out for yourself," and Jack replied with a, "Yeah."

Deck paused as he opened his mouth once more to say something and then pushed on, "And Jack? I'm sorry."

Jack gave the other boy a curt nod and they went their separate ways, leaving each boy with their own thoughts. The ocean rushed by below Jack in a streak of dark blue. Something about his nightmares last night picked at the back of his brain, begging to be remembered. They had been standard nightmares, with Elsa as the recurring star. Every once in a while he would grasp a little: a dark shadow and a flash of teeth, but it slipped away in the manner that dreams always do. But then, some dam in his head broke away and a laugh came spilling out of his dreams and stopped him cold.

Jack had heard that laugh somewhere before.

**A/N - **

**Hello, hello. I am keeping my word. One more update coming your way tonight. And if I get an overwhelming amount of reviews (overwhelming being like four or five) I might be persuaded to put up four tomorrow.**

**But that is really up to you guys. How much do you really want it? **

**Hey, I don't even know how many of you are actually reading every chapter. **

**Some of you may not even like this story. **

**I don't really know. **

**Anyway, I hope you did enjoy this chapter. Sorry there's no real action in it, I have to have some build up first. **

**So you know: read and review :) **

**Love you! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Elsa's POV**

The sob thankfully didn't erupt until Jack was far beyond hearing distance. It felt as if her entire body was closing in on itself. This was too much. First her parents and now this. Elsa wasn't sure how much more heart break she could handle. For a girl who had lived her entire life with the motto: Conceal, don't feel, this much emotional trauma was almost fatal to her. Ice began to grow around her until all at once it erupted into a full blown blizzard.

She just wanted it all to stop. The pain. The anger. The longing. She wanted to be able to hug her sister. She wanted her parents back. She didn't want to be queen. She wanted, she wanted, she wanted. No matter how much she yearned, some things were just never to be. And so with a pain she didn't know could exist, she cried on the floor of her room. It was a cry that scared her, because she didn't know how to control it. It flowed out of her as chaotic and terrifying as the magic she tried so fervently to hide.

What had she done in her life to deserve this kind of pain. Perhaps it was the universe's way of punishing her for almost taking the life of her sister. The more she thought about it, the more she was certain this was a punishment simply for existing. Her existence itself was an abomination to everyone she came in contact with. How fitting that the one source of happiness in her life was the one thing she couldn't have.

After night had fallen and all her tears had dried, she looked around at the catastrophe that was her room and fear gripped her like a vice. Snow sat in piles around the floor, on her bed and even her dresser. The only thing that remained untouched in the white expanse was the two dolls that lay against the wall where Jack had studied them earlier that day.

With a great sniffle, Elsa heaved herself to her feet. There were no more tears left in her to cry as she stepped gingerly through the snow to the dresser. She had given up long ago to understand what her snow affected and what it didn't. There was simply no understanding the strange patterns of her magic. As she looked at the dolls, she was overcome with a strong sense of loneliness and strangely enough love for her estranged sister. Snow began to melt around her to her relief, even though she could not yet control when she made it or didn't.

Elsa caressed the small red-headed doll in her cold hands. Her parents had the dolls made special for each princess. They both had a matching set. When they were younger, the two sisters would play for hours with them until they had become worn. After the accident, Elsa had banished her dolls to the dresser, dismissing them as a painful reminder of what could have been. This marked the first time she had held the doll in almost 10 years.

Almost all the snow had disappeared when Elsa exited her room. It seemed almost ridiculous to her that she had to sneak out of her own room and tiptoe around her castle, but her heart thumped painfully in her chest to remind her of the danger of meeting other people around. At the moment she was not in full control of herself and that was exactly how she wanted it. As she passed Anna's room, she paused, staring at the closed door, understanding just a minuscule amount what he sister felt for years. To Anna, there was nothing sadder than a closed door. For Elsa, a closed door meant safety.

She forced herself to keep walking until she had reached her destination: the ballroom. There was an atmosphere of abandonment around this room. No one had set foot in the large room since Anna's accident. The hall that had once been the site for many a party had become a haunting ground for Elsa's ghosts. As she shut the door tight behind her and stared at the place of her memory, she could almost see her and her sister, skating across the floor and she couldn't help herself.

With a stomp of her foot, ice coated the ground in a thin layer, and rubbing her hands together, she allowed her powers to create a snowball that she threw into the air. Within seconds the princess was gliding across the floor with a light snowfall fluttering around her.

It was times like this that she felt most peaceful and she allowed herself to think through the events of the week. Now that she had cried herself out, she could see the wise decision that it was letting Jack go. She could not make him happy. Maybe for a few years they could have been together, but then she would have gotten older. It would have killed her to watch him lose interest as she knew he would have eventually. She was nothing special. She had known that from the beginning.

Not allowing herself to dwell on the pain that still made it hard for her to breathe, she skated across the ice. A giggle echoed in her memory:

_"Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs" _

_"I love you, Olaf." _

Despite her grim situation, a smile spread across Elsa's face as she remembered the time spent with her little sister. They really had been the best of friends and it hurt knowing she was the only one who remembered those times clearly. Elsa had learned years ago that memories are harder to keep alone.

"Princess Elsa?" With a gasp of alarm, Elsa spun around, barely managing to keep her balance.

In the doorway stood Gerda.

The princess let out a breath of relief, "Gerda please don't sneak up on me like that. You know that I could hurt you."

Gerda shook her head, "You wouldn't hurt me, my dear."

Elsa sighed. Gerda had always given her too much credit when it came to controlling her powers. It was a long running argument that Elsa was too tired to go into right now.

"Is everything alright?" Elsa asked her servant.

The older woman nodded, "Yes ma'am. I just thought I heard something down here and thought I would take a look." She looked around with wondering eyes, "It really is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Elsa shook her head, "It is deceptive. The most beautiful things are often the most dangerous."

"I will never believe that about you, my princess." Gerda inched her way over the ice until she and Elsa were face to face. She knew better than to try and grab one ungloved hand. Not that she thought the princess would injure her, but it would startle her and Gerda knew it.

"You are not the monster that you think you are." Gerda reached up to touch the younger woman's cheek, "Do you want to know what I see when I look at you? I see a beautiful young woman who has allowed fear to rule her life."

Elsa pulled her face away from the servant's hand and took a step back, her face closed off behind a mask of ice "That's enough, Gerda. Goodnight." As soon as she said it guilt gripped her heart, but she pushed past it and slid out of the room, leaving the ice to melt itself behind her.

**A/N - **

**Yay! I got a chapter up before ungodly hours of the morning! **

**Someone should give me a high five! **

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy. **

**I'm still in the building stage so be prepared... In the next couple of chapters some crap will be going down. Guaranteed. **

**So I love you all. Remember my promise if you review. **

**Thanks for reading :) **


	16. Chapter 16

"How could you forget that?" Jack audibly berated himself for his stupidity. It had all come back in a horrible rush: the voice coming from the darkness in Elsa's room. You can't save her. She's already too far gone. In all the rush of emotion and madness, Jack had completely forgotten about the strange voice until it had reappeared in his dream. Or nightmare as the case had been. How could he have been so stupid as to forget that? Elsa's life could be at danger because of it.

The internal warring had been going on for hours. If he went back to Elsa now, he could keep her safe. He of all people knew that she didn't need anyone to save her, but that wouldn't stop him from trying. The real issue was, he didn't know what the threat was. In his relatively short time as a spirit, he had never encountered anything like this. Of course, he wasn't the best person for this, in the years of an immortal he was practically a baby.

Jack only knew of a few people who could give him the answers to the questions that he sought.

Four people, to be exact.

On any other day, a visit of this nature would be completely out of the question. He hated Jack, more than any of the other spirits combined, except maybe the Man in the Moon, nobody knew where he stood on the topic. But of all the Guardians, Mund seemed to have the worst time with Jack. It probably had something to do with Jack's natural sense of mischief, coupled with the unfortunate timing of Easter, which fell right at the end of Jack's reign. More than a few times, Easter had been met with a blizzard to Jack's utter delight and Mund's raging dislike.

Right now, however, Mund was the closest one with answers and Jack didn't care whether the rabbit wanted to give them to him or not.

It didn't take Jack too long to find one of the Easter Bunny's hidden tunnels. As he rocketed through the underground passages, his mind kept wandering back to Elsa. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her, especially if he had been the one to lead the danger there.

Before he knew it, however, he shot out of the tunnel and into an impossibly large underground cavern, filled to the brim with all things spring. Easter for the year had already passed and the ground was devoid of the eggs that so filled it during the Easter season. Instead, oval rocks lumbered around on short legs and the bunny himself was nowhere to be seen.

Jack took a brief sigh of relief that there were no protection mechanisms in the Easter fortess. Not bothering to touch down and attempt communication with the mute stone eggs, Jack flew over the ground heading away from the tunnels he had just exited. Mund had to be here somewhere and Jack was determined to find him.

The boomerang found him first.

The wooden weapon hit him in the head once on it's way out, but Jack had enough sense to shoot out of the way as it whipped around again, searching for more easy prey.

"What d'ya think you're doing here?" A loud and quite angry Australian voice called up from the ground.

Upon further inspection, Jack found the source of the voice. There he was, in all his glory, the Easter Bunny. He wasn't of course like everyone thought he was. Instead of a timid, soft, fluffy bunny, Jack had discovered him to be almost like a kangaroo in size and certainly not timid and cuddly. However, as far as soft went, well… It embarrassed Mund to no end the softness of his fur.

"Bunny!" Jack couldn't help but taunt the Guardian, it was a habit and habits are hard to break. With a quick gust of wind, Jack was on the ground, "How are you? I've missed you too!"

Bunnymund scowled at the snow spirit, "Jack, rumors have been flying about you and some human girl."

And with that, all the anxiety rushed back into Jack's heart. He didn't have time to mess around. Something was definitely wrong and he needed Mund's help to figure out what it was. His fear must have shown on his face because with a slightly softer tone, Mund began to speak again, "Seriously, Jack, what's up? Why're you here?" Mund was no idiot, he knew something big must have brought the boy here.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, Jack heaved a sigh and launched into a story he knew Mund wasn't gonna like, "Before you get the urge to interrupt at any point, just let me finish okay?"

The bunny gave a grudging nod and Jack continued, "A couple of days ago I was in Arendelle, with the princess, Elsa."

"What were you doin' in Arendelle? It's summer there!"

The snow spirit gave his interrupter a scathing look, "I was there to see Elsa. It's another long story. I thought she was dead and so I went to make sure she wasn't and ANYWAY! I was with her and all of a sudden, everything got really dark and I heard this voice say 'You can't save her. She's already too far gone.' At the time I didn't think too much about it and I got a little distracted," He couldn't stop the blush that rose, flaming, into his cheeks and Mund lifted his eyebrows in suspicion but didn't interrupt as Jack stumbled on, "Sandy came to get me to come back to Australia and I stopped to rest and I heard the voice again in my dreams. It's this horrible laughter and just darkness and there's this shadow that is always just out of sight. I came to you to see if you know by chance what it's all about. Who is the shadow?"

Mund's face had taken on an interesting look, one that Jack had never seen on him before. It almost looked like fear. Jack knew the feeling.

"It can't be." The bunny spoke mostly to himself as he looked down at the ground.

Jack couldn't help himself, "Who is it? What does it want?"

Bunnymund looked up at Jack, "I dunno who it is, but I've been hearin' the same things. The laughter. The darkness. The shadow. I've seen 'em too."

The ice spirit's heart plummeted, "You don't know who it is?"

Mund shook his head, "Haven't the faintest. But it is interestin' that you've seen 'em too…"

The bunny talked on, but Jack had stopped listening. If Mund didn't know who it was, it meant the Guardians didn't know what was happening. This was a phenomenon unlike any Jack had encountered. At the moment, however he didn't have time to wonder at it. This lack of information forced his hand: he had to get back to Elsa. She was in danger, he could feel it, and he wasn't about to let anything happen to her.

Jack was so caught up in his thoughts, that it took him a few minutes to realize Mund was calling his name.

"Jack! Jack Frost! Jack you daft idiot!"

"What?"

Having successfully captured the boy's attention, Mund raised a paw, gesturing to something behind Jack's head.

A rainbow of colors flickered through the air, without any rhyme or reason. Jack could not locate what the source of the colors would be and he looked to Mund for an explanation.

"That's North's sign. Somethin' big is happenin' and I betcha a hundred eggs it has to do with those dreams we've been havin'."

With eyes he could not keep from wondering, Jack stared at the lights until they faded away and then looked back at the Easter Bunny just as he thumped his large foot on the ground, opening a pit into that had not been there a second ago.

"Race you to the North Pole?"

**A/N - **

**I am THE WORST! I give you all permission to hate me! I'm not even going to give you all any of the excuses that I have been telling myself lately because it would just make you hate me more. **

**I am not going to make any promises that I can't keep because my life is hectic and when it's not hectic I just want to sit around and read a book and not write because, yes I love this story, but writing is draining and I just can't do it sometimes. **

**I'm going to try my best to update AT LEAST once a day this week. **

**But who knows? Maybe I'll get distracted again. **

**I'm so sorry you guys have to put up with me. **

**I wouldn't if I were you. **

**Please don't let that scare you away! I looooove the fact that people actually read this! And I want you to continue to do so :) Pretty please? **

**Can I also just say something that I think is hilarious? Looking at my story stats by chapter for this particular story I have noticed something: The most read chapter is of course the first one because that's just how that goes, but the second most read chapter is Chapter 9. Also known as the chapter where Elsa and Jack kiss. I just thought that was hilarious. **

**So, I'm back. Yay! **

**I love you all! **

**Please continue to read! :) **

**Thanks :) **


	17. Chapter 17

It was a close race, but in the end Bunnymund got his fluffy ears into the factory before Jack could squeeze by him.

It was with a smug smile that Mund greeted the other Guardians already assembled on the floor before turning back to Jack who was not feeling quite enough like himself to glare at the rabbit. He did, however, feel the full weight of the defeat and stored away a mental note to exact his terrible revenge at a later date.

"Jack Frost!" A flash of color and wings and Jack's mouth was wide open being examined, "They are so beautiful! Look how straight and white they are without any kind of dental work! They really are breath taking!"

"Tooth!" North's voice boomed through the workshop as he approached. Immediately the flying fairy backed off.

"I'm so sorry! It's just that I've heard so much about them! I remember when I took your baby teeth! They were so cute!" The multi-colored flying fairy spoke so fast that Jack almost missed what she said.

Despite the danger and uncertainty of the moment, Jack's heart skipped a beat as Tooth's words registered in his brain, "Wait! You took my baby teeth? You knew me before I was a…?" The question was interrupted by the arrival of the large Russian Santa Claus.

"Ah good, Bunny, you brought Jack. I had, of course, alternate method of getting him," here he stopped and gestured to two of his yetis, one of which held a large sack.

An outraged Jack interjected, "You were gonna kidnap me?"

North shrugged, "I call it forceful persuasion."

The snow spirit let out a noise of outrage and opened his mouth to speak again, but North spoke over him, "It does not matter because you are here. Today, Man In Moon has spoken. There is someone rising in shadows. He feeds on fear and everyday he grows stronger."

The gathered group had fallen completely silent, every member hanging on every word, "He is called Pitch. Pitch Black."

Mund spoke up then, "How have we never heard of him before?"

North's expression turned sad as he replied, "You have heard of him. Before, he went by the name Pyry Nevada."

Tooth gasped and covered her mouth in horror, "It can't be him! He hasn't been around for…"

"Fifty years. Since he came around," Mund finished, nodding his head at Jack.

Jack shook his head in confusion, this whole thing was moving much too fast for him with far too many vague details, "Wait. So who is this guy? Where did he come from?"

North took back the reigns of the conversation, "Nevada was the bringer of winter before you, Jack. Before you came, he had fallen in love with a human girl," at this, he couldn't help but look over at Jack who avoided his gaze, "They tried to make it work and be together, but one winter she got sick. Very sick. She died before spring came. Nevada was angry with Man In Moon, saying he could have saved her. He disappeared after that, hid in shadows. It changed him. Now he is back for revenge."

There were not enough detail in that story for Jack to fully grasp what was happening and what he had to do with it.

A large yellow question mark appeared and Mund nodded, "I'm with Sandy, what does this Pitch character plan to do?"

North shook his head, "I'm not sure. The Man In Moon wasn't clear. But it cannot be good, whatever it is."

Bunnymund was again the first to speak, "So we've gotta stop 'im." Sandy conjured a thumbs up to show his support. Tooth gave a hesitant nod and everyone looked at Jack.

"What do you need with me? Why am I here? From what I can tell, this seems like a task for the Guardians."

At this, all the heads turned back to North as he stroked his beard thoughtfully, "Yes. That is where you come in Jack. The Man In Moon chose new Guardian today to help with this fight. He chose you."

Jack was not the only one who's jaw dropped open as North finished. "What? Jack Frost, a Guardian?" Mund raged in disbelief. Even Sandy and Tooth didn't look convinced.

"I am not exactly Guardian material here Santa Claus. I can't sit around and look after children all day long. Snow and fun times, that's all I care about." Recently, that wasn't exactly true. Something else had taken precedence in Jack Frost's life, but now was not the time to bring that up.

North looked at him thoughtfully, "I agree, you would be most unusual Guardian. But Man In Moon makes no mistakes. If he says you are to be Guardian then you must be Guardian."

Unconsciously, Jack began to back away, as if someone were cornering him, his eyes wild, "I am not a Guardian. I don't even have any believers." That too wasn't true. Dang, Elsa was making a liar out of him today. If it weren't for the Princess, however, he would have been long gone from this situation, but he needed answers and he hadn't gotten them yet. This might be his only chance for them.

Tooth hovered forward gently, "Jack, we know being a Guardian seems like an overwhelming task at first. But, we are going to need you."

Jack almost laughed scathingly, "You don't even know what this guy is planning."

"Exactly. That makes him more dangerous. We don't know what we're going to need to fight him. Jack," North stretched out his hand to grip the boy's shoulder, "You may be our only chance."

A laugh sounded from beside Jack, "We don't need him. We can handle this bugger on our own." Mund spun his boomerang around in his hand, seemingly unconcerned with the situation at hand. Tooth peered around North's broad shoulders to glare at the rabbit.

"No, he's right. You don't really need me. There may not even be a fight." But even as he said it, Jack knew that was wrong. Something big was brewing in the shadows. He had felt it. Nothing that evil could remain, not while Jack was around. And if that something was threatening Elsa, well then… There was going to be hell to pay if she got hurt.

"Jack, please. You were chosen for a reason." Tooth's voice was almost pleading as she tried to convince the boy of the worth she wasn't sure he saw in himself.

Jack's mind was on a completely different track altogether. If being a Guardian meant he could somehow gain the support to save the Princess than it was a price he was willing to pay.

"Okay. Fine. I'll do it. I'll become a Guardian."

**A/N - **

**Oh my gosh! Two chapters in one night! What are the odds of that happening? **

**Sooooooo hope you all enjoy. This wasn't one of my best chapters, but as I was saying before: they're building. **

**Also, in case you didn't notice, I'm going off script a little bit. I wanted to make up my own backstory for Pitch because this is obviously the first time my Guardians have encountered him. Also, I think backstory gives a character more meat, especially when it's tragic. **

**So let me know what you think. I struggled a little bit trying to find a name Pre-psycho Pitch as you may be able to tell. **

**Anyway, you know the drill: read and review :) **

**Love you all! **


	18. Chapter 18

The first words out of Jack's mouth after being sworn in were, "I don't feel any different." The other Guardians understood: it wasn't a physical change, more like a change in responsibility and he was met with nods all around, "What am I supposed to do?" Jack was out of his element. He didn't know anything about being a Guardian. It was a feeling he hated more than anything in the world.

Tooth was the one who spoke up first, "For now Jack, there isn't much to do. We'll all go about our regular lives and if Pitch Black shows up, then we will be there to stop him."

Jack stared at her in disbelief, "That's all? You're telling me to go back to Australia and pretend like nothing is happening? You want me to pretend like I'm not hearing the voice of a lunatic in my dreams? What about Elsa? She is in danger! Pitch might as well have threatened her directly and you want me to nothing?" It wasn't like Jack to have outbursts of this manner and every face was a mask of surprise, which immediately turned to a look of pity. Anger rose in Jack's throat as the four Guardians exchanged knowing looks of pity, but he swallowed it down. Getting angry was getting him no where.

North once again laid a large hand on the boy's shoulder and looked at him with bright blue eyes, "Jack we know how attached you are to Elsa, but there is nothing we can do. We cannot find Pitch. We have responsibilities to attend to. Sandman is already behind on dreams today and Tooth must get back to her fairies. Christmas is just around corner and you must get back to your duties. Part of being a Guardian is making hard decisions. Right now you must make this one." Slowly, Jack's anger had ebbed away until he stood feeling small and useless under North's hand. His heart yearned for him to return to Arendelle, to grab Elsa and fly her away and keep her safe, but she had responsibilities too. That much he had seen in his few days with her.

There was no winning situation for him. If he went to Elsa she might not allow him to stay, and if she did, he would be shirking his responsibilities. If he went to Australia, he left Elsa unprotected and alone, something Jack was just not willing to allow. What he was willing to allow, however, was not the issue here. He was a Guardian now, not that he even knew what that meant, but what he did know what it came with responsibilities, responsibilities he would have to keep if he wanted the help of the four supernatural beings in front of him.

"If it will make you feel better I can send few yetis to Arendelle to watch the princess." North offered, hoping to appease the tortured soul of the boy.

Jack looked gratefully up at him and replied in a voice no one else could hear, "Thanks, North."

North's face split into a characteristic grin, "Very good. Then you all can go. Watch for Northern Lights. If Pitch returns I will signal you."

Jack hated the way the other Guardians looked at him. As if he were an injured puppy. He wasn't used to being pitied and he now realized how much he despised it. With a leap into the air, he summoned the winds to carry him away. Jack allowed an easy grin to fall to his lips as he saluted the others on the ground, "Well guys, it's been fun. We should definitely do this again sometime in say, another fifty years?" It felt good to joke around, almost as if he wasn't worried about a million different things. Something clawed at the back of his mind, itching to be remembered, but he didn't stop to dwell too much on it. Right now the biggest issue was getting away from the eight pairs of pitying eyes that followed him as he rose.

"Goodbye Jack!" North bellowed as he turned away, ready to burst through the doors.

"Bye Jack! Don't forget to floss!" Tooth's statement stopped him as again his brain gave way to a pivotal memory. The newly made Guardian whipped around and sped back.

"Wait! Tooth! Earlier you said you took my baby teeth!" Jack dropped none too gracefully on the platform in front of the slightly alarmed fairy, "Does that mean…? Did you know me before I was a spirit?" The words were laced with hope that drove away every anxiety.

The Tooth Fairy blinked at the unexpected question and smiled, "Of course. I collected every one of your baby teeth when you…" She trailed off as Jack grasped her shoulders.

"What was I like? As a human? Did I have a family? What were they like?"

Complete silence followed his rapid-fire questions. Slowly, Jack looked around at four astonished faces.

"What?"

Bunnymund took a small step forward, studying Jack in a new light, "You mean, you really don't remember being human?"

Jack slowly released Tooth's shoulders and took a step away from her, slightly alarmed by the amount of concern on her face as she looked at him, "No? I don't remember anything before I woke up in that pond fifty years ago."

"Oh, Jack!" Tooth's eyes filled with tears, "That must have been so lonely."

Jack stared at her and then looked around at the other concerned faces, taking another step backward, "You guys are kind of freaking me out."

North stared at him as if he were some kind of puzzle to solve, "No one has ever forgotten their life before."

Standing uncomfortably, Jack shrugged.

Tooth took a step forward, "Would you like to remember?"

More than anything he wanted to remember. If he had a family before and friends and a different name. Now here Tooth was offering him the key to unlocking that hidden part of himself, a part he had always assumed was missing without hope of ever being found. For years he had dreamed of belonging to a family, of having someone to love him unconditionally. Had he had that before? What sort of person had he been? Where had he been born? Who were his parents? These were all questions that had plagued him for years and now… now he might finally have found the answers.

He answered with a simple whispered, "Yes."

**A/N - **

**Soooooo... I didn't update for a week and then I just kept not updating because I was afraid you all would start to hate me because I didn't update... Is that the worst excuse ever or what? **

**Anyway, I got this review on here and I realized that people actually still read this... and like it and whatnot... Plus all of you who have been with me since the beginning of this story I totally feel that I owe you... So I'M BACK TO STAY! I'm not going to give you empty promises, but I will say this one thing: I am going to finish this story if it kills me. I. Will. Finish. **

**But I've got a job now and I leave for college at the end of next month, soooooo I can't really give you any kind of timelines as to how and when I will be updating. I can just promise you that I will. **

**But really, thank you all for reading this. Remember that reviews are like oxygen to me and as you can see, reviewing will oftentimes get my rear in gear about updating. I hate to pester you guys about it, but when I don't know whether people like my writing or not I get really self conscious and I don't want to update, so if you like this story PLEASE TELL ME! **

**Also if you follow the story you will get a little notification every time I update which might be helpful for you all since updating from here on out will most likely be sporadic... **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! MEMORIES! WOO HOO! **

**I love you all :)**


	19. Chapter 19

"The teeth soak up memories like sponges and even after they've been collected, they can help restore those memories," Tooth led Jack around her palace as she spoke enthusiastically about the teeth that surrounded them, "That's why I gather them. They collect the innocence of childhood and that's what I draw my power from." She looked around lovingly at her fairies as they darted from place to place.

Jack couldn't help but jump into the air to examine the palace from above, "Tooth this place is amazing!" Most of the palace hung from the ceiling, built to accommodate the fairies. Jack appreciated this most as he flew from place to place, inspecting every inch of it's multi-colored beauty.

The fairy blushed and gave him a white smile, "Thank you, Jack."

He tried to return the smile but he couldn't push away the butterflies that swarmed in his stomach. Actually being here with the possibility of remembering staring him right in the face was harder than he anticipated. What if he didn't like what he remembered? There was a good chance that everyone in his life before was already dead. Did he really want to remember his family only to find out that they were beyond his reach?

"Jack…? Jack!"

Jack shook his head to push away the thoughts and focused on Tooth who was now hovering in front of him.

"Are you okay?" She asked with the most endearing concern in her voice.

Jack gave her a weak smile, attempting to pass off the terror he felt as if it were nothing, "Yeah. Let's go get my memory."

He didn't notice the sad way Tooth watched him as he sped back toward the ground, or maybe he didn't want to notice. The fairy couldn't imagine what it must have been like living all these years without knowing who she was. Her life before was a pivotal part of who she was and why she did what she did. How did Jack survive all these years with that part of him missing?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jack waved his hand jokingly in front of Tooth's face.

She blushed when she realized she had been staring, but couldn't keep herself from saying, "You're stronger than everyone thinks you are."

Jack raised his eyebrows and his mouth turned up into a signature half smile as he flexed his biceps, "Well, I have been working out."

The fairy let out a laugh, glad to see a glimpse of the old Jack, "Come on." She led him to one of the hanging fixtures, "Jack Frost…. Frost… J… Oh there you are!" Tooth touched her finger to one of the round circles, each one with a different cartoonish face on the end. The one she touched her finger to depicted a face that looked very much like Jack, but with brown hair instead of white. Again a memory tugged at the back of Jack's brain, begging to be released at the sight of the image, but nothing came loose.

Tooth pulled the capsule out and handed it to Jack. By this time, the boy's heart was racing in his chest, both frightened and eager to release the memories. He looked up at Tooth with a small sense of uncertainty.

She smiled and gave him a small nod, "Go ahead, Jack. Just touch it."

With his blood roaring in his ears, Jack pressed his fingertips to the face of the cylinder and immediately he was caught away in a memory.

_The memories swirls around at first, unsure of where to settle, flitting from scene to scene._

_There is always laughter. _

_"Jack! Jack you can't have fun all the time!" _

_After a few seconds, the scene lands with him slinging a pair of ice skates over his shoulder. Jack felt himself in his body, but he had no control over what was happening._

_"Be careful!" A voice admonishes him from behind and Jack's heart leaps. That's his mother's voice. How could he have forgotten that? As he turns, he only gets a glimpse of her as he hears himself chuckle and reply, _

_"We will." _

_A tug on his hand and a small chuckle. He turns back to see his little sister, Liz, pulling. Jack's heart cries out to hug her, to pull her into his arms and never let her go, but he is trapped in a jail that is his own body. He can only watch as the memory, much to his chagrin, skips forward. When his mind settles again, the first thing he feels is his heart pounding uncontrollably in his chest as he kneels on the ice. Liz stands in front of him. _

_"It's okay, it's okay. Look at me." _

_Everything starts to come to him in fragments as he sees the ice is cracking under her feet. Nothing else matters besides getting his sister to freedom. _

_"Jack, I'm scared." _

_"I know, I know." A step and the ice begins to crack under his own feet, "But, you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in," he thinks frantically of a way to calm her down, "Uh.. we're gonna have a little fun instead." _

_"No we're not!" Her voice shakes with panic. _

_Jack steps gingerly to the side, trying to find a safe place to stand, "Would I trick you?" _

_"Yes, you always play tricks!" _

_He surprises himself by letting out a small chuckle, "Well, not…not, not this time. I promise, I promise. You're gonna be…" He holds out his hand to stop her from looking down, "You're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me." _

_The irony of this statement is not lost on Jack as he continues to think, "You wanna play a game? We're gonna play hopscotch, like we play everyday. It's as easy as 1…" Another step and another crack in the ice, he balances on one foot like it's a game, "Wooaaah!" He's rewarded with a laugh from his sister, "…2" Thankfully the ice holds under him, one more leap, "3!" The ice holds and he's able to grab a branch. Maybe if he can grab her and pull her to safety… _

_"Okay now it's your turn. 1…" Jack's heart speeds as the ice begins to crack more prominently, "2…" Just a little bit closer, "3!" With a jolt forward, Jack is able to hook her around the waist and use his momentum to push her behind him. _

_For a moment they look at each other and smile, elated to be alive. _

_Then the ice cracks for good. _

_"Jack!" _

_The only thing he sees is the moon. _

**A/N -**

**Oh my gosh two updates in a week. **

**I'm a sarcastic person. **

**Sorry... **

**Anyway, hope you liked it. I'm still trying to decide how I'm going to end the story, but I promise more Jelsa. If not in the next chapter then in the chapter after that. **

**Thanks for reading :) **


	20. Chapter 20

Jack emerged from the memory with a gasp, feeling like he'd just been dunked in a tank of ice water.

Tooth grabs his shoulders as he sways slightly, a touch of panic in her eyes, "Jack? Are you okay?"

Memories continued to flood Jack's mind as he stood in the colorful palace, each one more painful and wonderful than the last.

"I remember! I had a little sister, Cassie! And parents! And friends!" With each passing memory more and more light entered Jack's eyes. Tooth smiled at him, but she held her breath, a little fearful of what was coming when he realized…

"They're probably all dead now aren't they?" What little light had returned to the boy now drained out, leaving him empty. The fairy's throat closed tight as she looked at him, and nodded slowly.

"Those memories are over fifty years old, Jack. If they aren't physically dead, the children in those memories are gone. They won't be the same." She knew what he wanted to do. She herself had done it many years ago.

The pull to visit the places of your past life was to great to withstand.

"Jack, going back to that place… it may not be the best idea. You won't find what you're looking for."

The boy who usually looked so desperately for the joy in life looked at her with hopeless eyes, "I have to try." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I know," Tooth's reply was equally as soft and without hope, "But Jack?" She waited until his blue eyes stared into hers, "Promise me you won't go alone."

As much as she yearned to be there for the boy, she simply could not. Other responsibilities called for her, even then fairies approached her, but she waved them off, never breaking contact with Jack's icy eyes, "Promise me."

Jack gave a small nod before attempting a half smile, "You know me, Tooth. I couldn't keep a promise if I tried." Tooth stared back sternly until he amended his statement, "I won't go alone."

"Thank you." She gathered him into her arms and gave him the tightest hug possible, hoping that it would somehow help him feel all her care and hope. She'd been where he was right then: the uncertainty, the pain.

"Thanks, Tooth," Jack whispered into her shoulder. The moment she released him, he was gone, leaving her to wonder if she had done the right thing.

Jack didn't get too far away from the palace, however, before he couldn't go anymore. The ground rose up to meet him as he dropped and eventually landed on the ground on his knees.

He had forgotten his whole family. His mom and dad. Cassie. Even his hometown, Burgess. Through his five decades as a winter spirit he had visited Burgess many times and not once had he even felt connected to the place. Pain and guilt washed over him in waves.

Throwing his head back, he blamed the only person he knew to blame, "Why did you do this to me? Why me?"

As if in answer, darkness gathered around him and a chill entered his heart.

"Oh, Jack, why you indeed?"

The voice that spoke from the darkness raised the hair on the back of Jack's neck. For a few moments, he could do nothing but look around in fear. Somewhere deep inside Jack's brain he knew it was ridiculous. He shouldn't be afraid of the dark, but it wasn't just the dark. It was the suffocating cloud that enveloped him at that moment, making it harder to breathe.

"Given the powers of winter, to be able to freeze anything with a single touch. I know how you feel, Jack. Your powers are a blessing," The voice drew closer until it was right behind Jack's ear, sending a shiver of terror down his neck, "and a curse."

And all at once Jack got his first look at Pitch Black. He was adequately named. From his head to the ends of his robes he almost seemed to meld into the darkness around him. His skin had an ill, gray hue and he towered over Jack as he knelt on the ground. But it was his eyes that terrified Jack the most. They shone with a mesmerizing golden light. Jack couldn't look away as Pitch bared his pointy teeth and let out a soul chilling laugh.

"Hello, Jack."

"Pitch." It wasn't a question. There was no one else this terrifying figure could be. With a strength he didn't know he possessed, Jack pushed himself to his feet, "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. I just came to have a little chat. I hear that you're the newest Guardian. Congratulations." Pitch's mouth twitched up into another feral smile. Jack didn't reply as the dark force started to circle him, a lion stalking its prey, "You know, Jack. You and I aren't that different. Both blessed with gifts that inspire both awe and fear, we could be immensely useful to one another don't you think?"

Jack's grip tightened on the staff in his hand, as he tried to keep the anger off of his face. He was nothing like the glorified bully who strutted around him, "You know, I haven't gotten that vibe at all." With a sweep of his staff, ice daggers flew through the air toward Pitch.

Or at least to where Pitch had been moments before.

"Jack, I am not here to fight you."

Jack spun around, looking for the source of the voice, but he could see nothing but darkness.

With a sigh of frustration, Jack pounded his staff on the ground. Ice shards grew from the ground around him, forming an impassible wall of deadly sharp spikes. The darkness dissipated and Pitch appeared, his grin still plastered to his face.

"Very good, ice boy, you're learning, but as I said I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to recruit you. I could use someone with your skills on my side in the impending war."

"What makes you think I'd ever help you?" Jack couldn't keep the disgust out of his tone.

Pitch's smile turned into a face of mock concern as he continued to circle, this time outside Jack's protective measures, "How lonely it must be, living your life day after day with no one to see you. No one to believe in you. Poor Jack Frost, the Guardian with no believers. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to be the source of joy for so many without any kind of gratitude in return. But if you joined with me, I could promise you power. A world of darkness and winter. A world where no one could ever deny your existence as they sat freezing in their homes. We can make them pay for all we've suffered. Alone. All those years. Together we can make a world where we ruled. Together, nothing stands in our way."

To Jack's everlasting credit, he didn't hesitate even a moment. At his command, the wind's swirled in, whipping around them in a tornado of ice and snow, "I don't want to rule! I don't want to be feared! That's not what being a Guardian or even a spirit is about!" Jack yelled over the screaming of the wind, "It's about bringing happiness to children! It's about loving and being loved in return!" As he spoke, Jack's resolve grew stronger, unfortunately, he didn't get to continue his speech.

With a scream of anger, Pitch threw out his arms and thick, black mist rolled in. With it came the most debilitating fear. Memories flashed across Jack's mind: every dark day in his entire existence flooded Jack's mind at once and he was paralyzed in agony.

Through it all, he heard Pitch's voice: "You know, I once met someone very much like yourself. You see, though human she had been gifted with amazing powers. But, she was merely a child and you know how prone children are to fear…" Here the voice paused and let out a chuckle, "She ended up sacrificing a great deal for the sake of her little sister. Not as much as you, of course, I mean you gave up your life so your sister could live. But everyday, she died a little inside so her sister would be safe…

"From herself."

And just as sudden as he had appeared, Pitch was gone, leaving Jack on the ground, hands over his ears as he tried in vain to block out the words and memories and pain until just one thing remained,

"Elsa."

**A/N - **

**SQUEEEEEEE! I really like this chapter you guys! :) Finally, we get to see some action! **

**WHOO! :) **

**Anyway, I PROMISE there will be some Jelsa in the next chapter :) yay! :) **

**Also, **

**YAY I FIGURED OUT HOW I WANT TO DO THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY! **

**The resolution is still up in the air... I dunno... It'll figure itself out... This story kind of writes itself for me.. I'm not really in charge. **

**So I hope you guys like this chapter :) **

**I know I sure loved writing it haha **

**As always: read and review :) Predictions for what you think is gonna happen. Suggestions as to how you think the story should end... You know.. The usual. **

**Love you all! :)**

**EDIT: **

**This whole story is based on this tumblr post: post/71856672521/omg-i-am-dying-here-drown-in-my-tears-this-is**

**I just want to give credit where credit is due. **


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